


Born Under a Bad Sign

by GenKay



Series: Born Under a Bad Sign [1]
Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Demonic Possession, Demons, Gen, Guilt, Horror, Psychological Trauma, Supernatural Elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenKay/pseuds/GenKay
Summary: There had to be a place for people like him… the abandoned, the rejected, the forgotten… a place where even someone like him could belong. And one day, Robby would find it.Robby-centric. Crossover fic. Future fic.
Series: Born Under a Bad Sign [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154726
Comments: 19
Kudos: 54





	1. Prologue

“Loser.”

“Freak.”

“Pussy.”

“Pathetic little bitch.”

Robby pulled the jacket around him tighter, trying to disappear within the shadows in the corner. 

“Couldn’t even do one thing right, could you? All you had to do was win against the cripple. You could’ve easily finished him off… but when push came to shove, you just didn’t have the balls, did you?”

_ It was the right thing. I did the right thing. I couldn’t go all out against him… not after… what happened last time… _

“And how did that work out for you? Did anyone care that you held back? Did they even know? Would they have cared had they known? After everything else you did? No… we know better than that, don’t we? They were all so busy making sure Miguel didn’t get a boo-boo to care about you getting your ass beat by Kreese.”

_ Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut the hell up. _

Robby slammed the heel of his palm into his forehead, trying to silence the voice in his head. People were walking past him… had been for hours… but no one gave him anything more than a cursory glance. Just another crazy, homeless teenager on the streets - not worth caring about…

“Crazy? Yeah, you are crazy if you think I’m going anywhere. I’m here to stay, buddy. Have been here from the start.”

_ I’m insane. I’m really going insane. Everything… everything is just catching up to me and breaking my mind piece by piece. _

“Naah… you don’t get off that easy. Nothing insane about hearing the truth. The truth that nobody cares about you. That nobody gives a shit. And that’s because you are just not worth it. You never were.”

_ Leave me alone. Please… just leave me alone. _

“Hey… did you hear the latest? Your dad knocked that chick up. That Diaz woman… Miguel’s mom… she’s pregnant with your dad’s kid. They’re getting married soon and then your dad will have the family he always wanted. You were never good enough for him… but Diaz was. And this new kid… oh, boy...”

_ How do I know that? Did I read it somewhere? Did someone tell me and I forgot? That… can’t be possible, right? If someone actually cared enough to come and talk to me… to try to find me… I’d have remembered. Right? _

“Isn’t that awesome news? Happy, happy… everyone’s just so happy. They all got the happy ending they wanted...”

_ No, it’s a lie. It has to be. My dad wouldn’t just give up on finding me. He won’t just move on with his life. He doesn’t care that much but he cares atleast that much. _

“You still believe that? Even now? I mean, you are not exactly hiding out here, are you? Not like the last time. He can find you anytime he wants… he just doesn’t want to. Because he knows the truth.”

_ No… please… don’t say it… _

“That everyone is better off without you. Look at them… they all got their happy ending. And all it took was getting you out of their lives. Your dad has a new family, a son that he cares about and a new one on the way. Sam and Miguel… they’re just so much in wuuuvvvv…. And Daniel LaRusso… he actually got a student worth a damn, didn’t he? And your mom… well, there’s a reason she could never get sober when you were around.”

_ Please… enough… please… _

“And it’s not just them. The whole world hates you. Miguel is the big hero, right? The savior of karate. The two-time All-Valley Champion. And you are the asshole who almost killed him… crippled him. Didn’t matter to anyone that he was the one to pick that fight with you, did it? That he fought dirty - both times? No… they all loved him anyway. They all rallied around him… supported him… lifted him up until he was back on top again. And they all spit on you - because that’s all you are worth.”

_ Please… why are you doing this? What do you want from me? _

“I want to help you. Doesn’t this make you angry? Doesn’t this piss you off? Doesn’t this make you want to hurt them? To make them understand how bad they hurt you?”

_ I’ve been down that road before… and it doesn’t matter. I’m the one who always ends up getting hurt… always… always. I don’t want that again. _

“So what do you want?”

_ I want… I don’t want it to hurt anymore. _

“You got it, bud.”

The world around him dissolved into complete darkness. He tried to move, but something invisible and absolute held him in place. A pungent smell invaded his nostrils and made his eyes water. He tried to scream, but no sound would come out. Instead, thick, oily air smelling of rotten eggs forced its way down his throat… down… down… until he could feel it burning through his body down to the very last cell.


	2. Reunion

_ Another one of mom’s himbos… _

Robby had fallen asleep when on the couch waiting for her to come back… something he was thankful for at the moment. He did not need to see whatever they’d been up to when they’d sneaked in. And if the guy was just sneaking out before she woke up…

Or maybe not. 

Given how quietly he was padding around, it didn’t sound like he was wearing his shoes. And his silhouette looked like he wasn’t wearing a shirt either. 

_ Trying to steal something then? _

Mom did bring home some real losers every now and then. Guys who thought that she was just this flighty, dumb woman they could steal from. Guys who needed to be shown that she did have someone in her life to protect her.

Getting up as quietly as possible, Robby made his way towards the shadowy figure, getting ready to throw the first punch. 

Shannon would get pissed, ofcourse. But Robby had his excuse ready. 

_ I thought someone broke in… how was I supposed to know…. _

She wouldn’t buy it, but as long as this guy got the message….

Robby rushed forward, rearing his shoulder back and swinging his fist at the still shadow. But the asshole moved at the last moment, letting Robby’s arm fly past him harmlessly. And then his whole world flipped upside down.

He was slammed to the floor on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. And a strong hand was pressed against his chest, pinning him down. 

“Easy there, tiger.” The guy laughed. “I’m just looking for a beer.”

The commotion must have woken up his mom, because moments later the kitchen light flicked open, almost blinding him in the process.

“Dude, what the hell?” Shannon shouted. “Let go of my kid!”

“Your kid tried to jump me.” The shirtless guy said, his green eyes sparkling with mirth. 

Suddenly, Robby became acutely aware of the embarrassing position he was in - flat on his back with the stupidly good-looking, half-naked guy looming over him… this was so not how this was supposed to go.

“Get off me!” Robby said, angrily pushing the guy away. 

The guy laughed again, casually offering Robby a hand up, which Robby slapped away. Shrugging, he sauntered casually past Shannon and back into the bedroom. 

“Robby…?” Shannon asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 

“I thought someone broke it!” Robby said, defiantly. “I thought we were being robbed.”

Sighing in frustration, Shannon shook her head and went back inside. And a minute later, the guy walked out again, thankfully fully clothed this time. Robby stood at the same spot, arms folded across his chest, eyeing the interloper with anger and suspicion.

“So… uh, Robby, right?” The guy started - but stopped short upon the look on his face. “Sorry about… uh...”

“Won’t happen again.” Robby said tersely. 

The guy nodded, casually taking a beer out of the fridge like he owned the place. 

“You are lucky my dad wasn’t here.” Robby said, trying to sound intimidating. “He knows karate. He’d have kicked your ass.”

The idea seemed to amuse the guy, judging by how hard he was trying not to smile. 

“Yeah… lucky me, I guess.” He replied, keeping his tone even. Then something else seemed to occur to him. “Your mom’s not still together with him, is she?”

“No.” Robby replied without thinking.  _ Wrong choice, Keene. You should’ve lied.  _

“Good.” The guy looked relieved. “I don’t like messy situations.”

_ Messy? I’ll show you messy! _

“Gotta say though.” The guy continued. “Shan does not look old enough to have a kid as old as… how old are you?”

“Why? You wanna throw me a birthday party?” Robby snapped back.

“Alright, smartass. Let’s take it down a notch, okay?” The guy said evenly. “I get you love your mom and want to protect her, but there is no need for all this posing.”

No one had ever called him out like that before.

“You are not gonna hurt her.” Robby said, not giving an inch. 

“Whoa… easy… no one’s hurting anyone here.” The guy put up his hands in surrender. “Your mom knows the deal - we are just having some fun.”

The thought made Robby sick to his stomach. 

“She deserves better than that.” He replied. “She deserves better than you.”

There was a thoughtful look on his face and then the smile was back again.

“Yeah… you’re probably right.” The guy agreed. “But until that comes along, no harm in having some fun, right? Look… if it makes you feel any better, if I’d known she had a kid, I wouldn’t have come home with her.”

This wasn’t working. This wasn’t how guys like him were supposed to react. They were supposed to get flustered and embarrassed at being confronted by a kid half their size like this. Or they were supposed to get angry and defensive. Or they were supposed to mock him, make fun of his bravado. 

This… this wasn’t even a casual dismissal. No one had ever talked to Robby like this before and… he just couldn’t place what it meant. 

“Don’t talk to me like you are my dad.” Robby tried a different angle. That should freak him out.

“This is how your dad talks to you?” The guy asked back.

_ I don’t know. He hasn’t talked to me in ages… _

Robby scowled, annoyed at having this turned on him so easily. 

“Dude… stop trying to rattle me. It’s not gonna happen.” The guy said scratching the back of his neck and taking another swig of the beer. “I’m not sticking around and your mom’s cool with it. So you got nothing to worry about.”

That was a long-winded way of telling Robby to stop acting like a brat. But the guy didn’t actually say that… and he also wasn’t not saying it to be nice or anything… it felt like… the guy was being… honest? Not eager to please. Not desperate to prove his manhood. Just coolly confident enough without being a dick about it.

_ Maybe not such a loser after all. _

“If you wanna sneak a beer, I won’t tell.” The guy mentioned casually. 

For a moment, Robby was confused by the offer. Sure, wannabe dad types did this sort of stuff to win you over, but this guy had already made it clear that he wasn’t interested in all that. 

But then he flushed when he realized the truth - his half-finished bottle of beer that he’d started on because he was pissed at his mom for being late again and then put in the fridge. The guy had clearly seen it and… somehow known?

Was he judging Robby for this? Or Shannon? Did he think that she was a bad mother for letting Robby get away with drinking?

“Don’t think about it too hard - you got nothing to prove here. I started sneaking beers when I was twelve. My brother though.. Phew...” He chuckled, shaking his head. “All I’m saying is, do what you want, just don’t stop yourself on my account.”

Robby shrugged and got his half-finished bottle from the fridge. He brought it to his lips and took a swig, carefully watching the guy the whole time for the barest hint of amusement or judgment. But the guy simply focused on his own drink, never even looking at him. 

Okay… so Robby could kinda see the attraction there. 

The guy was good looking, sure. With his green eyes and dirty blonde hair and square jaw… but then, this was LA. You couldn’t throw a brick without hitting someone good-looking. And the guys like that that Shannon usually brought home were such douchebags…

This guy didn’t seem anything like them…

“Are you from around here?” Robby asked, curiously.

“Just passing through.” The guy replied. “Was here for work.”

_ What kind of work?  _ Robby wanted to ask… but that would’ve been showing too much interest. And if he wasn’t going to stick around anyway…

“I’m fourteen, by the way.” Robby said. And got a confused look in return. “You asked me before how old I was. I’m fourteen.”

“Oh… cool.” He nodded awkwardly. “So… uh… you doing good at school?”

_ What the hell kind of question was that? _

“I don’t know, man - what am I supposed to ask?” The guy said after seeing the weird look Robby gave him. “This isn’t exactly a cake-walk for me either.”

_ So much for not getting rattled.  _ It was Robby’s turn to be amused - but he was surprised to find that his laugh didn’t have his usual scorn in it. 

“So… uh...” Robby thought about what to say next. “You said you started drinking early - your parents were cool with that?”

A strange shadow passed over his face and for a moment Robby feared he’d crossed a line. But then the guy shrugged. 

“Mom wasn’t around.” He replied. “And dad… let’s just say he trusted me to take care of myself… What about you? You get along with your dad?”

Robby shook his head. “He’s too busy with “work”.” He replied, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Hasn’t spoken to me in months.”

“That sucks...” 

No pity, no faux indignation on his behalf, no pretense at understanding his pain… that was almost refreshing…

“Well… this has been fun and all, but I should get going.” The guy said, putting his empty beer bottle down on the counter. “Got an early morning.”

_ So soon? _

“You can stay.” Robby said, as indifferently as he could. “I promise not to kick your ass again.”

The guy chuckled. “It’s cool. I need to get back anyway.”

_ Don’t say anything. Don’t give him any sign that you want him to stick around. Because you don’t want that anyway.  _

The guy was almost at the door before Robby spoke up again. 

“Wait… uh… I didn’t catch your name.”

“Dean.” The guy replied. “My name’s Dean.”

Dean? Nice name. It suited him.

“Dean…?” Robby prompted.

The guy hesitated before answering. 

“Does it matter?” Dean replied. “Not like we are gonna see each-other again.”

That was true. The guy was from out of town after all. He was just blowing by and it wasn’t like Shannon or Robby or anyone wanted him to stick around. He’d be forgotten by next week. 

So… why did Robby find himself disappointed at that idea?

* * *

The darkness was gone in a flash and pain took its place.

Someone was screaming, Robby realized. A deep, blood-curdling scream that could chill you to your bones. Was it… coming from him?

Every nerve-ending in his body felt like it was on fire. Like something deep inside of him was being pulled out and was desperate to hold on, practically ripping him to pieces rather than let go. 

It was the darkness, he realized. The same darkness that had covered him for ages that was being dragged out of him. His jaw was wide open and he watched in mute horror as the black smoke flew out of him, swirling around the ceiling. And then, in a flash of flames, it was all gone and his body was his own again. 

Robby tried to move - and regretted it immediately as a white hot flash of pain shot through his shoulder. 

“Don’t move!” A voice commanded and Robby obeyed. 

He’d been here before, Robby realized numbly. There was a weird sense of deja-vu to all of this. A familiar face with green eyes floating over him, strong hands holding him in place… but he was sure he hadn’t been in this much pain the last time. 

And the hands weren’t just holding him down. After pressing two fingers to his neck, they started moving down, patting him all over, checking for… something. 

“You think you can get up?” The guy asked. 

Could he?

Robby nodded slowly anyway. 

“Alright… easy now...” There was a hand supporting the back of his neck, gently lifting him off the ground. Gingerly, he tried to put some weight on his hand as he sat up and almost screamed again as his shoulder burst into agony.

Robby looked down, horrified at the blood covering his shirt.

“What the hell - ?”

_ Green eyes staring at him coldly from behind the barrel of a gun.  _

_ “Gotcha, bitch!” _

“You shot me!” Robby said, staring at the older man in shock. 

Dean’s face barely betrayed any guilt. “Had to be done, kid.”

_ Had to be done? I had to be shot? Why? What did I do to deserve - ? _

And then it came flooding back. The screams. The cries for help. The begging. And the blood… so much blood… on his hands… all over him…

“It wasn’t me!” Robby cried. “I didn’t do that. I didn’t hurt them. I’d never - ”

“I know.” Dean replied. “Calm down.”

_ No, no, no, no, I could never have done something like that. I could never have hurt those people. I never wanted to hurt anyone and they… I didn’t even know them. Why would I hurt them for no reason? _

“It was that thing… that darkness inside me. It took over. It took control. It wouldn’t let me move… or let me breathe...” Gods, he sounded insane. “Please, you gotta believe me.” Robby pleaded. 

“I believe you.” The guy said, sharply. “It’s alright, kid. We’ll explain everything. But you gotta settle down first.”

But his stomach had another idea. He barely had the time to turn his face before he was heaving all over the wooden floor. He was blinded by tears as the bitter bile burned its way up through him and he wasn’t done until he retched twice more.

“Here. Drink this.” A new voice said from above. 

His blurry vision wouldn’t let him see who it was, but he accepted the bottled water and gulped it down gratefully. Someone helped him up to his feet after, practically lifting him effortlessly, and then led him to a nearby chair. The same hands pressed a damp cloth in his good hand and Robby gratefully wiped his face with it. 

Finally feeling a bit clear-headed, Robby looked around to take the stock of his situation. They were in a log cabin somewhere… probably in the middle of the woods. Two solar lamps were the only source of light there. But even though it was dimly lit, Robby could see a few guns and knives on the floor. 

And the two men in the room with him… one was familiar. The guy his mom had hooked up with way back… what was his name again? And the other one was taller, with longer brown hair. 

“Dean...?” Robby said, remembering.

“Yeah...” Dean replied. 

“You know this kid, Dean?” The taller guy asked, sounding surprised. 

“Couldn’t place it right away - but it hit me a while back.” Dean replied. “I met his mom at a bar in Cali a couple of years back. Had a… ahem… sleepover.”

He got a skeptical look from the other guy in response. 

“It was the Black Dahlia thing. Remember that Sam?”

“Oh… right!” Sam nodded, satisfied with the answer. 

It was like they were talking in their own secret language… like brothers often did. And they were brothers… somehow, Robby knew that for certain.

“Feeling better now?” Dean asked, turning back to him. 

He was… a little bit more clear-headed. Especially with that voice in his head finally gone.

_ That voice… was it…? _

“That thing inside me…?” Robby started. 

_ A demon,  _ his mind supplied, but he refused to say. That was just insane. Things like that - 

“It was a demon.” Dean replied. “Let’s do the abridged version first. Yes, monsters are real. Yes, demons exist. Yes, they possess people and take control of their body. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but no, you are not crazy. Everything that happened to you was real and no, you did not lose your mind. And most importantly, none of this was your fault. You are not responsible for anything that thing did when it was in control. I know it’ll take you some time to process and shit, but just focus on that for now.”

Sam huffed in annoyance. “Nice, Dean. Real considerate.”

Robby didn’t hear him. 

“I let it in.” He said, numbly. “It was talking in my head for days… I didn’t know what it was… and I - ”

“You didn’t do that either.” Dean said, curtly. “Trust me kid - demons don’t need your permission to take over your body. This thing could’ve taken you anytime it wanted. It just decided to torture you first for kicks.”

Breathing was getting hard again and he could feel the familiar prickling behind his eyes. 

“Why me?” Robby’s voice almost broke. “What did I do to… why me?”

“You didn’t do anything. It wasn’t your fault.” Dean told him, a little gently. “You just… caught a bad break.”

_ Bad break? My whole life has been nothing but one bad break after another. _

“Look, we can talk more about this later, but we need to take care of that first.” the other guy, Sam, spoke up, pointing to Robby’s shoulder. 

Right… his throbbing bullet wound. 

“You’re… gonna take me to the hospital?” Robby asked, a little scared. 

“If you want us to.” Sam replied. “But… you should know, you are kind of wanted by the cops right now. That thing killed a lot of people and it was wearing your face when it did it.”

Robby didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that.

“So… you want us to take care of that here?” Sam asked him.

Robby nodded.

“It’ll hurt like a bitch.” Dean warned him.

_ Pain? Sure… that was something he was used to already.  _

“Do it.” Robby said, gritting his teeth.


	3. Uncertainty

He’d passed out somewhere along the way and he wasn’t sure when. He remembered drinking two shots of whiskey, the alcohol burning its way down into him, almost making him retch again and then dizzy pretty much immediately. He remembered Dean cutting the bloodied shirt off of him with a wicked looking bowie knife. He remembered the white hot pain of a burning switchblade slicing his flesh like butter. He remembered biting down on the piece of wood between his teeth, trying to keep himself from screaming, while Dean held him in place. 

But after that…

It was over now, though. By the time he’d woken up, he’d already been stitched up and bandaged. And then they helped him into the backseat of the car - an old classic Impala that Johnny would’ve loved - and just started driving. 

“So… what now?” Robby asked, scared to know.

“One step at a time.” Dean replied. “Figured we’d take you back to our motel room. Get you cleaned up. Get some food into you. Some new clothes.”

Robby nodded slowly. “And then…? You’re gonna call the cops?”

A look passed between the two of them. 

“Already told you - you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“So… I can explain it to them, right?” Robby asked. “Tell them that I was possessed.”

“They’ll strap you to a gurney and wheel you to the closest nuthouse.” Dean replied flatly. “We know what really happened, but you know how that sounds to others, right?”

He did. Even now, he’d much rather prefer to believe that he was insane after all. 

“But… if you back up my story...” Robby suggested.

“They’ll put us in the cell next to you.” Sam was the one to reply this time. “I’m sorry, Robby. I know this isn’t fair and I know the whole thing is unbelievably shitty, but this is how things are. People don’t know that there are monsters out there and… they don’t want to know either. They’ll do anything not to know it.”

Robby nodded in resigned acceptance. Somehow, deep down, he’d already known that this wasn’t going to end well for him. 

“We’ll figure something out.” Dean told him. “The good news is, nobody knows you are here. They’re only looking for you in California and they’re not looking that hard. So if you keep your head down, you won’t have to go to prison.”

Robby nodded… then frowned. “California? Wait… where are we?”

“Uh… just outside Portland, Oregon.” Sam replied.

Oregon? How the hell did he get there? And when…?

“How long…?” He swallowed thickly. “When is now?”

He sounded crazy and stupid even to himself, but the two of them seemed to understand immediately. 

“May 2020.” Dean replied. 

No… it was supposed to be August…

“Ten months?” Robby said, numbly. “That thing took ten months of my life?”

He was feeling sick once again and he let the rest of the car ride pass in silence. 

* * *

It was truly a wonder how much of a difference the little things could make. A hot shower, fresh clothes, warm food, a soft chair to sit on… and Robby almost felt like a human once again. 

Or maybe it was just the painkillers kicking in and making him loopy.

“Dracula?” He asked. 

“Not real.” Sam replied. “But vampires are.”

“Bigfoot?”

“No. And no aliens either.”

He nodded. “Werewolves.”

“They’re real - but they don’t turn into full wolves.”

Robby munched on the fries thoughtfully. He’d been trying to avoid confirming this but…

“Angels?”

“Real.” Dean replied. “And real dicks too… most of them.”

Well that… sucked. 

“And… the devil?” Now they were getting to the big leagues.

“Real. Atleast he was.” Sam replied. “He’s dead now.”

Robby was speechless for a moment. 

“The devil’s… dead?” He asked, trying to make sense. “Like… Lucifer? Satan? The Prince of Darkness? He’s dead?” Sam nodded. “I didn’t even know you could kill the devil.”

“Well, I did anyway.” Dean shrugged, smirking at him. 

“ _ You  _ killed the devil?” That was… that was just batshit insane. 

And yet, somehow Robby knew it was true. 

“Winchester!” He said, suddenly remembering. “That’s your last name, right?”

“Yeah...” Sam looked at him suspiciously. 

“That thing in my head… that demon… it was afraid of you.” Robby explained. “Like… scared shitless. That… does that make sense?”

“It does.” Dean shrugged. “Who said demons never learn?”

“You did.” Sam replied. “You are the only one who said it.”

“Yeah, well, it still stepped out, didn’t it?” Dean chuckled. “Guess I was right after all.”

It felt like he’d stepped into the twilight zone. That he was falling down the rabbit hole and he had no idea how deep it went.

“And… God?”

“Real.” Sam replied. “His name’s Jack.”

“God’s name is Jack?” Robby said numbly. 

“He’s about 3 years old and he took over from the last guy pretty recently.” Dean explained. 

“God is… 3 years old and… his name is… Jack?” Robby shook his head. “You guys are messing with me now.”

“I know, this sounds crazy - ”

“No - crazy is “I wrestled with a bear once”. This? This is “me and the bear went out for a couple of drinks after the match”. It’s… so insane that it’s… stupid.” Robby said, shaking his head. 

And yet, it was true. All true. The thing in his head had known all this too and whatever they were telling him, it matched up with everything it knew. 

“Well, don’t go too deep in that rabbit hole, okay?” Dean told him. “You’ll just drive yourself crazy. And you got more important stuff to focus on.”

“More important than solving the mysteries of the universe?” Robby asked, incredulously. 

“Solving that mystery isn’t gonna help you with what’s next.” Sam replied. “You should focus on your own life for now?”

_ What life? I already had nothing when I got possessed… and now, I have even less.  _

And just like that, it felt like the fever dream was over and he was back to being the same old Robby Keene - miserable and alone. 

“We can… get you started, if you like.” Sam was saying. “Set you up with some new ids. Some cash. Drop you off some place the cops won’t be looking. We’ll give you stuff to ward off any demons. That should be enough for you to start over.”

_ Start over and do… what? Go where? And with whom? _

“You might feel like reaching out to your family. Or… friends.” Dean said, hesitating. “But… it’ll be smarter not to get them involved.”

“I don’t have any family. Or friends.” Robby replied quietly. “Nobody cared about me even before I got possessed.”

He got a sympathetic look from Sam at the admission, but Dean shrugged impassively. “Makes things easier, I guess.”

Yes, but… no. He wasn’t ready to face it just yet. He wasn’t ready to go back to his real life just yet, to face the loneliness and hopelessness. 

“The Magnus Archives?” Robby said, abruptly changing the subject. “Cuthbert Sinclair? Does any of it mean anything to you guys?”

It did, apparently. Both Sam and Dean sat up straighter at the mention of those names.

“The demon was looking for the archives.” Robby explained. “He kept thinking about it all the time. There’s supposed to be some powerful and dangerous stuff in there. Does that… mean anything to you?”

“It does.” Dean replied, his whole body tense. “And if Sinclair’s involved, it’s nothing good.”

“I thought we already got all his stuff.” Sam mused. “You think he had more stashes hidden somewhere?”

“Maybe...” Dean wondered. “What else can you tell us? Is this thing supposed to be in Portland? Is that why that demon was here?”

_ Was it?  _ Robby wracked his brain for the answer. 

“No...” He said, slowly. “No… it was tracking someone from Magnus’ collection. Someone… who had the key to the place, I guess? Or knew where it was? Something like that...” He wasn’t being helpful, was he? “Sorry… that’s all I know.”

“That’s good enough.” Dean’s voice was all business. “Sammy - call her.”

“We don’t even know if she’s topside.” Apparently Sam knew right away who “her” was. 

“Call her.” Dean repeated. 

Whatever was happening here was way above his paygrade, Robby realized. He had no place here. He didn’t even have the right to listen in, probably. He wondered if he should leave them alone when the phone started ringing. 

“Well… Hello boys.” It was a woman’s voice on the other end - a lilting, thickly accented voice that practically sounded like it was singing. “What can I do for you?”

“Rowena… Dean’s here too.” Sam said, somewhat superfluously. “You got our package?”

“Yeees...” Was she a teenager? She sounded positively giddy. “Must say, you boys do work fast when ye want to. Don’t worry… I’ll make sure he stays where he belongs from now on.”

“That’s not all.” Dean spoke up. “He was looking for something - the Magnus Archives. He was after something there.”

If Dean’s serious tone hadn’t been enough to let Robby know the gravity of the situation, the sudden silence on the other end definitely was. 

“I thought you boys already got all of those.” Rowena replied, sounding concerned. 

“If we did, no harm, no foul.” Dean replied. “But if we missed one...”

“Understood.” Rowena replied firmly. “I’ll ask him very nicely to tell me what he was upto. He just… didn’t seem the ambitious type.”

“Not to us either...” Sam replied, musing. “There might be something more to this… Watch your back.”

“Oh… don’t you worry about little old me.” Came the mocking reply. “You know I can take care of mysel-”

Sam hung up before she completed the sentence. 

Maybe people in his life were right after all. Maybe he was too stupid… to slow… It took him this long to connect the dots after all. 

“You guys… are gonna question the demon that possessed me, right?” He asked, dreading the answer. “Which means… whatever you did… it didn’t kill him?”

Sam pursed his lips and shook his head. 

“So… it’s still out there?” Robby’s heart was beating faster. “It can come back?”

“It won’t.” Dean said, firmly. “It’s back in hell where it belongs and it’s not getting out again.”

“Why not? It got out before, right?” He broke out in cold sweat. “And there are others? More like it? And they’re planning something…?”

Breathing was getting harder and his vision started going blurry again. But a moment later, Dean had him by the shoulders and was gently slapping his face. 

“Get a grip!” His sharp voice broke through the haze and compelled Robby to obey. He started taking deep breaths like Mr. LaRusso had taught him until his vision cleared. “You got nothing to worry about, alright? We got the demon problem under control.”

_ Under control?  _ “What does that mean?”

“It means...” Dean sighed. “Look - things used to be really shitty a couple of years back. Hell kinda broke loose a bunch of times and thousands of them were roaming the earth.”

_ Thousands?  _ Robby stared at them uncomprehending. 

“I-I never heard anything about that...” He said, uncertainly.

“Yeah - we took care of it.” Dean explained. “We contained them and put them back where they belonged. Compared to that flood… well, now we are going around plugging the leaks.”

Was that supposed to make him feel better? If something like that could happen once…

“That thing still got me!” Robby replied. “What’s stopping something like that from happening again?”

“We’ll show you how to protect yourself.” Sam replied. “You won’t have to worry about getting possessed again. Or about getting attacked by one.”

Protect himself? From demons? And other monsters? How the hell was he supposed to do that? He didn’t have any magical powers. He was just a normal person…

And so were they…

Weren’t they?

“Are you guys… even human?” Robby asked, suddenly nervous. “Like… completely normal humans?”

“Yeah...”

“But… aren’t you like chosen ones or something?” He stuttered. “Like Buffy? Don’t you have enhanced strength or… or magical powers?”

Dean shook his head, amused. “We’ve just been doing this for a long time and we learned a lot along the way. Nobody chose us - we chose to do this.”

“Why…?” That was the only thing Robby could think to ask. 

Why would anyone choose to get involved with this stuff?

“People need help.” Sam shrugged. “And someone has to do it.”

That was insane. That was so stupid. It was moronic and self-destructive and… heroic? These guys were real life super-heroes?

“I-I can help too...” Robby ventured, uncertainly. 

Dean’s smile disappeared. 

“It's okay.” He said firmly. “You’ve already been through enough.”

As always, the moment he was told he couldn’t do something…

“I can do it.” Robby insisted. “I'm not the same as before. I know karate now.”

“Good for you!” Dean said, the corner of his lip going up. “Answer’s still no.”

“We are not putting your life in danger, Robby.” Sam interjected quietly. “Most people who choose this life end up dead way before their time. And those who don’t, end up wishing they were. You don’t want that.”

_ What else do I have? _

“What am I supposed to do then?”

“Live your life.” Dean replied. “Build something new for yourself. You still have that chance… so don’t waste it.”

That’s what everyone kept telling him before too… to move on, to let go, to fix things… as if it was that easy. 

“If I knew how to do that...” Robby said, tired. 

“We can help you figure that out later.” Sam told him. “Get some rest for now. We’ll be in touch once this is over.”

_ Be in touch?  _ That sent a chill through him. 

But the two of them were already getting up and putting down some stuff on the table. 

“The room’s paid for till the end of the week.” Dean was saying. “Here’s a card you can use for now to buy stuff… just, don’t pay much attention to the name on it. Some cash… Oh, and here’s a burner for you to use. My number’s already in there. Call me if you need anything.”

“Where are you guys going?” Robby asked, numbly.

“We got work to do.” Sam told him. “And it’s best for you if you are not around us when we do it.”

Robby swallowed and nodded. As excuses went for leaving him, this one was actually novel. 

“Don’t worry - we’ll swing by later to check in on you.” Dean reassured him, smiling and Robby smiled back.

_ No, you won’t. People always leave me because they can’t get away fast enough. And nobody ever comes back… _


	4. Mission

_ This was a mistake… _

Robby pulled his hoodie around him closer to hide his face and walked faster. 

He hadn’t wanted to owe Sam and Dean any more than he already did. So what if they’d left him a credit card? If he could hustle for his own food… Besides, the name on that thing? ‘Baron Von McGillacuddy’? Who was that gonna fool?

So Robby had ventured out on his own… and some kind of deja-vu had taken him to a community center where they were feeding the homeless. He hadn’t thought anything of it until someone had called out his name.

He didn’t know anyone in Portland and no one was supposed to know him. 

“HEY! ROBBY! WAIT UP!” The voice called out again. 

Clenching his fists, Robby stopped. He’d been made. Drawing more attention to himself was only going to create a bigger mess. His only option was…

“Yo, man!” A dark-skinned guy a few years older to him jogged up to him. “Where you been?”

That… wasn’t right. He was greeting Robby like an old friend. 

“Uh… around.” Robby replied, tentatively.

“Whoa… nice threads!” The guy looked him up and down. “You get a job or something?”

“Or something...” His clothes weren’t exactly new, but they still looked better than the rags this other guy was wearing. For now, that was.

And then it hit him…

_ The demon… it was wearing my face, my body… my name. This is about whatever it was looking for. This guy - Wade, his name is Wade - is somehow part of that.  _

“You find yourself a John or something?” Wade asked, looking him over critically.

_ No, just a Dean and a Sam.  _ “Or something.”

“Knew you was pretty enough for that work.” Wade smirked. “You like it?”

Robby shook his head tersely, unsure of how much to tell this guy.

“Yeah… I can respect that.” Wade nodded. “So, you still looking for the way out?”

“The way out?” Robby frowned. 

“C’mon man, we talked about this.” Wade said, annoyed. “You wanna stop sleeping in the streets, eating crap they serve you in there, you gotta come with me.”

_ Is this part of it? The demon could’ve possessed anybody - any rich guy - or taken me anywhere. So if he was here and talking to this guy about getting out… _

“Yeah.” Robby said, cautiously. “I’m still looking for a way out.”

“Then come with me.” Wade smiled.

“Wait… right now?”  _ Too soon.  _ Robby had no idea what he was getting himself into.

“Yes, right now!” Wade scoffed. “You got a job interview or something? It’s now or never.”

_ Not enough time.  _

“Uh… let me take a leak first.” Robby requested. 

Wade smirked and shrugged and Robby ducked into the alleway, fishing out the burner phone from his pocket. If this was what he thought it was, he should tell Sam and Dean. They were the ones good at this sort of thing after all. 

_ “Guy demon talked to asking me to cm with him.”  _ Robby typed hurriedly.  _ “Might b abt the plan. Going with him. Dunno whr.” _

His thumb hovered over the send button uncertainly. Would the Winchesters actually come? Would it even mean anything if they did? And if this turned out to be nothing… this was just a job for them after all. They were involved with stuff way bigger than him. They didn’t actually care about what some loser kid got up to. 

They’d ditched him as soon as they could after all…

Robby pressed cancel and shoved the phone back in his pocket. 

* * *

There were three of them there, apart from Wade. Two guys and a girl - all three dressed like they shopped at a Salvation army outlet… which looked kinda incongruous with the mansion they were in. 

“Got you a new one.” Wade said, his voice trembling with nervousness and excitement. “You said you was tired of all the druggies, right? This one’s fresh. Clean.”

Robby stared at Wade, his heart hammering with fear. What had he gotten himself into?

The girl stood up and casually sauntered towards Robby, looking him up and down like she was examining a piece of meat. She circled him, stopping behind him and sniffed his neck. 

“Not bad.” She commented critically. 

“This is good enough, right?” Wade asked, eagerly. “I can join y’all now?”

“Let’s have a taste first.” The blonde guy replied, getting up as well. 

Monsters… they were all monsters. Wade had brought him here to be killed. Eaten.

_ Not without a fight. _

He swung back his arm and his elbow caught the girl’s face with a sickening crunch. He kicked out, nailing Wade’s knee and making him wail in agony as he stumbled back. The blonde guy rushed him - faster than Robby thought possible - but he managed to somehow move out of the way of his punch at the last moment. 

But then a hard kick to his back sent a shockwave of pain through his wounded body and sent him sprawling to the floor. A moment later, the three of them were on top of him, pinning him down with unbelievable strength. 

“Fiesty one!” The third guy snarled. “Let’s see if he tastes as good as he fights.”

Their jaws opened wide and rows of sharp teeth - fangs - descended from their gums. 

_ Shit, shit, shit! I never stood a chance!. They’re gonna rip me apart! _

“STOP!” A sharp voice commanded, making all three freeze in place. 

“I said no eating without my permission.”

The new guy was clearly the leader of the bunch. Better dressed than all three of them - taller and broader too. Like them, he looked almost sickly pale too, but his black eyes seemed to glitter in their sockets. 

“Fucker broke my nose.” The girl complained. 

“So fix it.” The leader replied, nonchalantly. 

With a grunt of frustration, she grabbed the twisted appendage and cracked it back in place. 

“You want the first taste, Marcel?” The blonde guy asked. 

The leader - Marcel - continued to study Robby carefully. 

“We are not eating this one.” He said, finally. “Kid’s a fighter. We could use more fighters in our ranks. Let him up.”

The three looked at each-other uncertainly but obeyed anyway. Gingerly, Robby got back up, trying to stay on his guard. But Marcel was beside him before he knew it. 

“Come with me.” He said, gently pushing at Robby’s shoulder and guiding him towards the door. 

They were almost out before the girl spoke up.

“Marcel - we haven’t fed in days.” She argued. “We need to eat.”

Marcel turned around and quietly contemplated the question. 

“Eat that.” He said, casually jerking his head towards Wade. “Wasn’t of much use anyway.”

Robby saw the feral grin on their faces and the terrified look on Wade’s. 

“No, no, no… guys… please…. No, no, no….” Wade begged. 

Marcel closed the door behind them and Robby could still hear the screams as he walked down the hallway.

* * *

“The guy was pretty useless.” Marcel told him conversationally. “Blood-bags taste like crap, but even they are better than the addicts he used to get us.”

Robby chose not to reply and looked around at the well-decorated room instead. Either this guy was really loaded or… the people he’d taken the house from had been. 

“Like what you see?” Marcel asked. “Some of the stuff here is from my own collection.”

“You don’t look like much of a collector to me.” Robby commented, dryly. 

“I didn’t use to be.” Marcel shrugged. “I was more of a caretaker, of sorts. The guy who had me did something to me to make me obedient. Made me take care of his stuff.”

“What happened?” Robby asked, curiously. 

“He died, I guess.” Marcel shrugged. “And just like that, I was free. So I grabbed what I could and got out.”

_ Cuthbert Sinclair,  _ Robby realized, feeling cold all over. This was how it all tied together. This was the monster that the demon was looking for - the one who had the key to the Magnus archives. He fed on homeless kids - people who nobody would miss - and Robby was supposed to be the bait. And Wade was supposed to lead him right to the guy. 

“Any of this stuff special?” Robby asked.

“All of it.” Marcel replied cryptically. “Gotta say though… you seem to be taking this pretty well. Usually when people see what you just did, there is a lot more freaking out.”

_ Crap. Should I have acted more freaked? _

_ No… he’d have never bought it. _

“I just… don’t have it in me anymore.” Robby replied, sounding tired. 

_ And I need to focus on surviving. Figure a way out of here. _

_ (Survive? What for?) _

_ Doesn’t matter. I can’t let it end here. Not like this. _

“So… are you gonna kill me?” Robby asked, as casually as he could, while his eyes darted around the room looking for a weapon. 

“If I wanted that, I’d have left you to the others.” Marcel replied. “But I saw some potential in you.”

_ Atleast someone does,  _ Robby thought bitterly. 

“But.. before we go ahead, empty your pockets.” Marcel instructed. 

He had no choice. Robby already knew he couldn’t fight the guy. 

“Unlock the phone.” Marcel told him, examining the burner Robby had put on the table. 

_ Shit… if he sees the numbers… and knows the names… _

“I… can’t.” Robby stammered, his mind racing to find an excuse. “I don’t know the code.”

Marcel looked at him suspiciously. 

“The phone’s not mine.” Robby explained. “I stole that thing off another guy. I was planning to sell it but...”

The answer seemed to satisfy him. Marcel crushed the phone one-handed and let the plastic pieces drop to the floor. 

_ And there goes the last chance I had of calling for help… Nice job, Keene! _

“Okay...” Marcel nodded slowly. “Now strip.”

Robby’s stomach clenched at that order. 

“Sorry dude… not into that.” He tried. 

“Me neither.” Marcel replied, evenly. “But I won’t ask again.”

_ No choice. No chance.  _

Robby undressed as slowly as he could as a small act of defiance, but that didn’t seem to bother the guy at all. One by one, the articles of clothing fell to the ground until he was standing naked in front of the older man. 

“What happened here?” Marcel asked, his cold fingertips gently brushing against Robby’s bullet wound. 

“Got stabbed.” Robby lied easily. “Tried to steal from the wrong guy.”

Satisfied, the guy moved on. Clammy hands explored and pressed against his muscles, as if looking for something hidden underneath. This wasn’t Robby’s first time being strip-searched and he knew goddamn well that this wasn’t how it was done. It wasn’t supposed to be so… intimate.

_ Not into it, my sweet patootie… _

By the time two fingers pushed into him dry, the guy had almost given up all pretense. Robby grunted in discomfort and couldn’t help but squirm and clench, but he put up no fight otherwise. 

Which seemed to disappoint the guy. With a huff, he pulled out and turned Robby around. 

“One last thing.” He said, softly. “I just need to make sure that you are on the level. Okay?”

Robby nodded. 

And then screamed when Marcel pressed his thumb right into his bullet wound. On instinct, Robby struck out with his hand and punched the guy square in the face - but the monster barely seemed to notice. Without easing up the pressure, he threw Robby to the ground and pinned him there, all the while digging his digit into him. 

“Tell me everything.” Marcel screamed in his face. “Why are you here?”

_ Why? Why?  _

The pain was making it impossible to think. 

“Wade… aaarghhh… Wade brought me.” Robby replied in between screams. 

“Why did you come with him?” Marcel asked. 

“Safe… he said safe… better.” Robby struggled to get away to no avail. 

“And you believed him? Are you really that stupid?” Marcel snarled. “If you are, maybe I’m better off killing you right now...”

“Please… let me goooo… pleeaase...” Robby begged. 

“Not an option, kid.” Marcel pressed in harder. “Either tell me everything or I kill you right now.”

“I already did...” Robby begged, screaming. “Please… stop. Kill me, but stop!”

And just like that, the pressure was gone. The wound still throbbed, but even the momentary relief felt like a godsend. Robby sucked in deep lungfuls of air and realized that he was already crying. 

“Sorry kid, had to be done.” The sadist said, patting his cheek. “Had to make sure you weren’t keeping anything from me. I need to know that I can trust the guys joining our little troupe.”

Something else the guy had taken for granted.

“I-I… never said… that I was gonna join you.” Robby told him in a shaken voice. 

Marcel looked at him almost pityingly. And then he raised his palm and sliced it open with the nail of his thumb.

“It was never your call to begin with.”

He pressed the bloody palm onto Robby’s mouth and Robby could feel the slick, tangy taste of iron sliding down his throat. 

* * *

He was sick. 

His skin felt like it was on fire. His gums ached, small pointed daggers digging at them from the inside. He was sweating and clammy and cold. Every sound was muffled, but it all still felt as loud as a mac truck passing by. There was only a dim, fluorescent bulb in the cellar where he was locked, but it hurt his eyes worse than the sun ever had. And the smell… gods, the smell...

He was sick. His bullet wound had gotten infected and now he had a fever. That was the only rational explanation. 

But rationality and logic didn’t apply to his world anymore. 

His bullet wound was already gone. Completely healed. He’d checked it for the damage Marcel had caused, but found nothing but smooth, unbroken skin. Not even a scar. But the fever still burned through him. 

_ You are turning into a vampire, stupid. Apparently this is what it feels like. _

No… he refused to believe that. All that wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real. It was a dream…

Yes, that made sense. All of this had been a dream. Some neurological sickness that he was in the final stages of. People didn’t get possessed by demons playing Indiana Jones and going after vampires. They didn’t get saved by mysterious, good-looking superheroes who were on a first name basis with God.

No, he was sick. And he just needed to get to a hospital. And they’d treat him… give him some antibiotics…

_ Yeah… because things have worked out for you so far… _

This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. 

_ It’s your own damn fault. Seriously, what was the plan here? Walk up to the vampire and politely ask him to give you the key? Take it to Sam and Dean, hoping that they’d want you to stick around after that? Why would they ever want that? Why would anyone want you around? Even your own parents… _

_ No, not that. Not again… _

_ This is how it ends for you. This is how it was always gonna end - with you becoming a monster one way or the other. You thought being possessed was bad? Atleast then you had the excuse of not being in control. Now… you’d be the one hurting people… killing them… ripping them apart like -  _

_ No… please… no…. _

“ROBBY!” The shout was faint and distant but his ears picked it up anyway. 

Dean. It was Dean Winchester. He was looking for him. 

Flooded with relief, Robby almost shouted back. 

_ Think about this, dumbass. You are a monster now. And that guy kills monsters. What do you think he’s gonna do when he finds you? _

_ I won’t tell him. I’ll hide it and control myself and… _

_ And then what? On second thought, maybe you should just call out. Let him finish you off and put an end to your misery.  _

His heart hammering again, Robby cowered in the corner, praying that Dean would just give up. 

_ I don’t want to die… please… I don’t want to die… _

_ Why not? What’s left for you? If you had any decency left at all, you’d finish yourself off and save everyone else the trouble.  _

The voice came closer… and closer. Robby could hear the footsteps now. They got louder until they were right outside the door and the handle rattled loudly.

“Robby, you in there?” Dean asked loudly. “If you can hear me, stand back. I’m kicking this thing down.”

“WAIT!” Robby yelled out in panic. “Don’t come in!”

There was a pause long enough to make Robby wonder if he’d simply imagined it all. 

“Kid…?” There was concern in Dean’s voice.

“He did something to me...” No hiding it now. “He… turned me. If you come in...”

He could hear Dean’s heartbeat through the door. He could smell his blood pumping through his veins. He could feel the hunger rolling in his stomach, the fangs breaking through the skin of his gums and descending over his teeth. 

But most of all, he could feel the urge to break through the door and sink his teeth into his food’s neck. And he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to control himself. 

“If you come in, I won’t be able to stop myself.” Robby told him. “And I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Goddamnit, kid...” Dean sounded disappointed. “Alright… which one of them turned you? There were four of them there.”

_ Were? So they are already dead? _

“Marcel...”  _ What difference that’s gonna make?  _ “Uh… the big well-dressed guy. The leader.”

“Gotcha.” Dean replied, slapping the door. “Hang in there. I’ll be right back.”

Robby heard the footsteps retreat with a mixture of relief and disappointment. 

Dean wasn’t going to kill him but… he was just going to leave him there? To rot in the cellar? Wasn’t that just another kind of death sentence? A crueler one in fact?

_ It’s what you deserve. You think you should have a quick, easy death after everything you’ve done? _

Robby slumped to the ground with his head in his hands and stayed there for what felt like hours but in reality was only just minutes. The oversensitivity, the hunger, the incessant physical discomfort - all that would drive him insane long before he died of whatever. He’d go stark, raving mad, scratching the door, banging his head against the walls, talking to himself. They’d find his body years after the fact and wonder what happened to get him there.

But then the footsteps were back and Robby was relieved again. 

_ Maybe Dean changed his mind. Maybe he is gonna finish me off after all.  _

_ Good! _

“Hey Robby! Still in there, right?” Dean said from the other side. “I’m coming in. Just stay back and stay in control for a little bit longer. Don’t make me hurt you, alright?”

He could’ve almost laughed at the idea…

_ It’s okay. He means not more than necessary. He seems like a nice guy… he’ll make it quick and painless. Shoot me, stab me, stake me… whatever… just don’t let it hurt too much.  _

“Need a yes here, kid.” Dean said again.

_ Stupid.  _ Robby had been nodding in agreement and only now realized that Dean couldn’t actually see him. 

“Y-yeah...” He choked out in a raspy voice. “I’ll stay - ”

The door burst open and the flood of light almost blinded him. And the smell of fresh blood hit him like a train. It took all his willpower to keep his word and restrain himself. 

_ It’s okay... _ He told himself, digging his nails into the meat of his palm.  _ It’ll be over soon.  _

But Dean didn’t pull out his gun. Instead he shoved a canister of foul-smelling brew into Robby’s hands 

“Drink up.” He told him. “This will fix you right up.”

Robby looked up at him, blinking in surprise. 

_ I’m not gonna die? _

* * *

_ I wish I was dead.  _

He’d thrown up twice after drinking the foul concoction. And then once more while Dean supported him back upstairs.

No… “thrown-up” wasn’t the right word. It’d been full-on exorcist level hurling. He felt like all his insides had been liquefied and yanked out through his mouth. 

“Kicks like a mule, doesn’t it?” Dean said, comfortingly rubbing his back. “Don’t worry. You’ll feel better soon enough.”

_ Is he speaking from experience? _

Whatever it was, by the time they made it back to the study upstairs, Robby was feeling almost normal. 

And then he saw the look on Sam’s face - jaw set and lips twisted in anger - and felt like throwing up once again.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Sam Winchester snarled. “Walking into a vampire’s nest like this? Are you insane?”

Robby was taken aback at the intensity behind those words. 

“Uh… didn’t you guys just do the same thing?”

“No, you don’t get to talk back.” Sam snapped. “Not after pulling a stunt like that.”

_ Why was he acting like his dad? Why was he acting like he… cared? _

“I was trying to help.” Robby replied, sullenly. “I thought if I could figure out something more about what the demon was after… I didn’t… I didn’t think it through.”

“Damn right you didn’t.”

“Lay off the kid, Sam.” Dean said, gently. “Not like we haven’t pulled dumber shit.”

Sam hmphed but let it go. 

Robby didn’t get the dynamic between them. Of the two, Sam seemed… smarter? No, more mature. Calmer. More serious. Dean was… more hair-trigger. More testy. More impatient. They seemed like the classic brains and brawn pair and between them, Robby would’ve guessed that Sam called the shots.

Except, when Dean spoke, Sam listened. 

“Find anyone else?” Sam asked, calmer now.

“Bodies. A dozen. Maybe more.” Dean shook his head, bitterly. “Guess we solved the case.”

“Case?” Robby asked. 

“It’s what brought us to Portland.” Sam explained. “Homeless teens going missing. The vampires were smart. They were taking people no one would miss.”

_ Kids like me. Kids that were abandoned… forgotten… _

“But you noticed anyway?” Robby pointed out. 

Sam shrugged. 

“When we found out that there was an escaped demon in the area, we figured that it was behind the kidnappings.” Dean continued. “But that didn’t make sense. The demon had only been out for a while and this was going on for a couple of years.”

Robby nodded. “So… how did you guys find me?”

“Tracked your phone to it’s last known location.” Sam replied. “We checked in at the motel and when we found out that you were gone… well, we figured you were up to something dumb.”

The embarrassment he felt at that was overcome by confusion. 

“You… checked in on me?” Robby asked. “But you only saw me two days ago?”

“Yeah. So?” 

_ So… that’s not how it goes. Sure, people say they’ll stay in touch but then they forget about you for weeks. Months. Nobody just “checks in” within two days just because they are worried about you. Nobody worries about me that much.  _

“Nothing...” Robby shook his head. 

Dean gave him a skeptical look and then moved on. 

“Sam - find the key yet?” 

Sam shook his head in disappointment. “Found a bunch of stuff that could be from the archives - but nothing that’s gonna open anything.”

There was something there… something nagging Robby in the back of his head. The way Marcel had searched him… pressing him all over…

“Did you check the guy?” He spoke up. “The vampire, I mean?”

“Yeah, ofcourse.” Sam replied. “He had nothing on him.”

“No… I meant his body.” Robby clarified. “Vampires can do that, right? Hide things… inside themselves?”

He got identical thoughtful looks from the both of them at the suggestion. And for a moment, he was afraid that they’d break out in laughter. But Dean nodded and walked past him. 

And that was when Robby saw Marcel’s headless body lying in the corner. 

The hunter unceremoniously turned it over and started pressing down on the torso.

“Yahtzee!” Dean exclaimed, having found something. And the moment he took out a wicked sharp bowie knife, Robby turned his face away. There were slicing and squelching sounds and Robby didn’t dare look back until they’d stopped. 

“Got it!” Dean said. And Robby saw him hold up what looked like a blood-covered, golden tablet. 

“That’s the key?” Robby asked, surprised. He was expecting something more… key-like. 

“That’s the key.” Dean replied. “Good job, kid.”

“Yeah...” Sam agreed grudgingly. “Good job...”

Robby allowed himself a moment to bask in the praise. It might’ve been a small thing - almost insignificant - but he’d been of some help atleast. Done something right. 

And now it was over. These guys had what they needed and they didn’t need Robby anymore. Now they couldn’t wait to get rid of him. They’d give him some cash if he was lucky and drop him off at the nearest bus station and then…

“Hey Robby!” Dean said, waving the tablet in his face. “Wanna go on a treasure hunt? See this thing through?”


	5. Bounty

The rumbling of the Impala under him was oddly soothing. Robby couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up feeling so relaxed and refreshed. 

“Are we there yet?” He asked, stretching and yawning. 

“We’ll get there when we get there.” Dean quipped back. 

Robby grinned at the cliched reply and settled into a comfortable position. Truth was, he was in no hurry to get wherever they were going. The last two days of traveling had been oddly peaceful. The seedy bars, the greasy diner food, cheap motels, the mind-numbing rock music blaring constantly from the centuries old tape-deck… the endless bickering going on in the front seat…

None of it should’ve been comforting or calming, but somehow, it worked. 

It was yet another argument that had woken him up this time. Something about needing someone’s help and the price they’d have to pay for it. 

“So… we have the key, right?” Robby asked, picking up the golden tablet from beside him and examining the weird symbols all over it. “Why do we need someone else?”

“It’s the inscription on it. It’s some kind of spell.” Sam explained. “We can’t read the language, but we know someone who can.”

_ So it was a language?  _ Robby squinted closer. It didn’t look familiar at all. 

“So… how do you know what it is?” Robby asked. 

“Seen the symbols before.” Dean replied. “On the gates of hell.”

_ Gates of…? _

Robby dropped the tablet like it was radioactive - which it probably was - and scooched away from it. 

“It’s just words, dude.” Sam said, laughing. “It can’t hurt you.”

_ Can’t it?  _ Robby wondered, eyeing it suspiciously. He wasn’t going to take that chance. 

“Just follow the rules… do what we say… and you’ll be fine.” Dean told him. 

Yes, the rules. They’d been very explicit about those. That was the only way Sam was going to agree to bringing him along. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Don’t go looking at things out of curiosity. Don’t leave our sight. Don’t touch anything without our permission. Don’t touch ANYTHING at all without industrial gloves. Don’t go anywhere on your own. And do what we goddamn tell you. Follow orders to the letter. When I say jump, you don’t even ask how high - you just jump. Got it?”

The rebel in him had bristled at the thought of following all those instructions - but the more mature part of him had seen the sense behind them. This was a dangerous new world he was stepping into and one mistake could mean death. Or worse. 

So he’d just nodded tersely. 

* * *

The road got steadily worse as they approached their destination and abruptly ended altogether in the middle of nowhere. 

“Is this it?” Robby asked, looking around. 

“No… we gotta trek about a mile into the woods.” Sam replied, getting out of the car. Robby nodded and followed suit. 

“Hello boys.” The accented voice Robby remembered from the phone spoke up from behind them. “You certainly took your sweet time. Don’t you know you shouldn’t keep a lady waiting?”

“Since when are you a lady?” Dean snarked back. 

“Hey, Rowena.” Sam interjected more politely. 

Rowena - the redhead before him - was not dressed for a trek. She looked like she was ready for an evening out in the town - and yet, she didn’t seem to be bothered by the prospect of trekking through the woods in those heels.  There was something off about her. Something unnatural and exotic - beyond being a pale Scottish redhead. Too late, Robby realized he’d been staring at her and she’d been staring right back. 

“Well… they just keep getting younger every time, don’t they?” She said, her voice lilting. “What have you boys gotten this poor wee lad into?”

Something about how she said that rubbed Robby the wrong way. 

“They didn’t get me into anything.” Robby said, defensively. 

“Aren’t you a little too young to be doing this?” Rowena asked. 

“Aren’t you a little too old?” Robby shot back.

Dean snorted back a laugh and Robby watched her smile disappear with some satisfaction. 

“Well… looks like you’ll fit right in with these cheeky devils.” She said, recovering. She turned to Sam next. “Can I see the tablet?”

“Not so fast.” Dean interrupted. “Nothing is free with you… so what do you want?”

“Oh… well...” Rowena shrugged demurely. “I won’t ask for much. Just a few little knick-knacks from whatever we find in there. Decorations, really.”

Dean wasn’t fooled. 

“One item.” He said flatly. “And no weapons. Nothing that can be used to hurt or kill anybody.”

“Three.” Rowena countered. “And… I’ll throw in helping you inventory the stuff in there.”

“One.” Dean stood fast. “And you are still helping us with the inventory.”

“Fine… Stiff the poor old me...” Rowena gave an exaggerated sigh. “You boys always did love to screw me over...”

“Oh, get off it.” Sam said, annoyed at the whole exchange. “You already know what you want from in there, don’t you? That demon told you what it was looking for. And you already know we are gonna let you have it - so don’t act like you are doing us a favor here.”

“Well… when you put it like that...” Her demeanor was coy now. “The tablet, please?”

Sam looked over at Dean and the older brother nodded in assent. He took out the metal object and handed it over to the lady. 

“Ah...” Rowena examined it admiringly. “His spellwork never ceases to amaze. So… intricate… elegant. Walk with me, Samuel... ”

The two of them went ahead while Dean stayed behind picking some stuff out of the trunk of the car. Then he started after them and Robby fell in beside him. 

He wasn’t sure what to make of the woman. Her whole attitude felt so… out of place.

“Yeah, she freaks me out too.” Dean said, watching the expression on his face. “But it’s cool. She comes through in the end.”

“So what’s her story?” Robby asked. “She’s not… normal, right? Not what she looks like?”

Dean nodded. “She used to be a 300-year old witch before she died.”

_ A 300-year old witch? Who was dead?  _ Robby felt he should’ve been more shocked but after the last couple of days, he figured he might’ve just lost that sense of his.

“So… how did she die?” What else was there to ask?

“Sam killed her.”

Somehow, that was the most surprising part of it all.

“And now they are friends?” Robby asked. 

“Well… she doesn’t hold a grudge.” Dean replied. “After all, dying gave her the chance to become the new queen of hell.”

“Oh… so she’s the queen of hell?” Robby looked at the people in front of him again. “Yeah… that checks out.”

“We’re here!” Rowena declared, stopping in the middle of the track.

_ Here… where? _

Robby looked around, uncertainly. Nothing but trees and bushes all around them. Was this place underground? Or… up in the sky?

Others seemed right at home though. They all stood close while Rowena got to work. She took out the tablet, chanting some words in some unknown language. Sam handed her a vial of blood that she poured over it. Then she raised it high and Robby could swear it was starting to glow. Some more words and it burst into a flash of light and then…

* * *

They were somewhere completely different altogether. A building… something like a garage but bigger. Walls were stacked end to end with dusty shelves and weird stuff on them. 

“I don’t… understand...” Robby said, trying to catch up. “Did we… teleport?”

“Oh, no, boyo...” Rowena replied, laughing. “This place was here all along… just hidden with a powerful cloaking spell. I simply lifted the enchantment.”

_ Sure… why not? _

“Let’s get to work.” Dean said, dropping the bags and starting to unpack them. “Robby...” He held out a pair of thick yellow gloves and Robby obediently put them on. Sam did the same and so did Dean - but Rowena didn’t bother. 

“Alright - so here’s the plan.” Dean started. “All this stuff in here - we’ll divide it into 3 categories - keep, sell and destroy. Some of the stuff here can be useful to us in the future - so we’re gonna keep that. But some other stuff is gonna be too dangerous. We’ll burn that down with his place once we are done. Alright?”

This was for his benefit. Sam already knew the plan and Rowena was already browsing - so this speech was only meant for Robby. 

He nodded. “And… sell?”

“Harmless stuff.” Dean replied. “Stuff like that - ” He pointed to a small stone-statue on the shelf. “That’s supposed to ward off evil spirits - but you can’t exactly walk around wearing it on your neck. But someone will pay a good price for it.”

Robby looked at the statue curiously. A small, shapeless stone thing… and old. Like really old. It didn’t look like much. He looked at Dean for permission.

“Go ahead.” Dean said, nodding. 

Robby picked it up and curiously turned it over. Then he stretched his arm and pointed it towards Rowena. 

“Doesn’t seem to work!” He declared, when the target didn’t even seem to notice. 

Dean snorted back another laugh. “Alright, smartass. Let’s get to it.”

He’d barely put it in the “sell” duffel when an excited squeal from Rowena caught his attention. 

“Oh… would you look at that...” She said, holding up a broadsword so rusted that it looked like it was going to fall apart. 

“What’s that?” Sam asked. 

“Excalibur.” Rowena exclaimed. “Or rather, the sword that story is based on.”

_ King Arthur’s sword? The Sword of Kings? _

“Looks dead.” Dean commented, looking closely. 

“It is. Sadly.” Rowena agreed, disappointed. “Whatever magic it had is long gone. Now it’s just a rusted piece of metal. Still...” She looked at them knowingly. “The right person would pay through the nose for this...”

Dean nodded and jerked his head towards Robby. And he took the sword from her and carried it back to the sell pile. 

_ I’m holding Excalibur. Fucking Excalibur. Oh God - please don’t let it break in my hand… _

“Oh… a soul stone...” Rowena sounded sad. “I’d love to have a new one… after you boys so messily destroyed the last one.”

“That could be the one thing you take from here.” Dean suggested. 

“Nice try...” Rowena smiled back. “No… what I’m looking for… is.. THIS!”

_ A stick?  _ Robby blinked.  _ A fucking dried up stick with dead leaves on it? _

“Really?” He couldn’t hold back his surprise. 

“Oh… yes...” Rowena had eyes for nothing else. “This, boys, is the only thing left in the world of Yggdrasil… once so beautiful and magnificent...”

“That’s...” Robby felt a chill go through him. “The World Tree from Norse myths, right?”

All three of them looked at him in surprise. 

“What?” He shrugged. “I read.”

“Yes… a lot of mythologies have the idea of an old and sacred tree.” Rowena explained. “Ofcourse, the Christians burned every single one of them down. But even a single branch has all the power the tree had in its peak. Untapped, infinite, magical power. Oh… the spells I can do with this thing...”

“Rowena...” There was a warning in Dean’s voice. 

“It won’t kill anyone. Or hurt anyone.” Rowena replied. “Not on it’s own...”

“Dean… better her than someone else...” Sam agreed. 

“Fine.” Dean huffed. “Keep it. And let’s get this show on the road...”

The work there seemed pretty simple. And surprisingly safe. Sure, they told him that half the stuff there was cursed and he’d end up dead in a day if he directly touched anything - but none of it actually  _ looked  _ dangerous. 

They found their rhythm after a while. Sam catalogued - noting down what things were what, how old, how dangerous, what they did. Rowena helped confirm what they found. Dean and Robby moved stuff to and fro - with Robby having to handle all the “sell” stuff.

None of the stuff looked as magical or impressive as he’d have imagined it, but if half of what they were saying was true…

“You think we’ll find some more stuff from the myths in here?” He asked once, excited. “Like.. maybe Thor’s Hammer.”

“No...” Sam replied, distracted. “Already got that back home.”

Robby laughed at the joke, only to realize it wasn’t one.

“Wait… you are serious? You guys have Mjolnir?” 

Sam shot him a glance and went back to work with a soft smile playing on his lips. 

It ended up being a pretty hard day's work. Pleasantly boring. The only disappointment for Robby was at the end when he saw how big the “destroy” pile was. The “keep” pile was much smaller… but compared to that, the “sell” pile was positively miniscule. 

“Nice haul...” Dean said, nodding approvingly. “I set up this place to blow as soon as we get out. Rowena… you sure everything we leave behind will burn?”

“To a crisp.” Rowena confirmed. “‘Tis a pity. So many valuable things in here...”

Robby found himself agreeing with her. “You sure we can’t keep some more stuff to sell?” He asked. 

“Yes.” Dean replied firmly. “Don’t worry… your cut will be more than enough.”

“My… cut?” Robby hadn’t even thought of that. That he’d actually get anything out of this…

“You worked hard at this.” Dean clapped him on the shoulder. “You should get paid for that.”

_ Should I? What did I even do? I was just… along for the ride… _

“So… what’s my cut?” Robby asked, suspiciously. 

“5%.” Dean replied. 

That seemed… low…

“I’ll take 40%, thank you very much.” Robby replied indignantly. 

“How do you figure forty?”

“I did all the heavy lifting here.” Robby complained. “That demon possessing me found out about this place and the key and where it was. And since I was the one it was possessing… Also, I led you to the vampires and I told you where to find the key. So...” 

“Kid’s got a point.” Dean agreed. “Alright… 4%.”

“What?” Robby said, confused. “That’s not how haggling works.”

“3%.” Dean went lower.

“Dean, stop messing with him.” Sam huffed in annoyance. “And Robby… we already talked about you getting 30% - remember?”

They  _ had  _ talked about it - and Robby had completely forgotten. 

Dean was laughing, zipping up the bags and packing things in, getting ready to leave. 

“So… how much do you think we’ll get for the stuff we sell?” Robby asked, hesitating. 

“Not sure.” Sam shut down his laptop. “We’ll need to get this stuff authenticated first. And evaluated.”

Robby nodded. 

All this was just temporary… he had to keep reminding himself that. These guys were doing him a favor, letting him tag along like that and it was better for everyone if he went his own way before they got tired of him. 

Maybe he should cash out early. Ask them for an advance on his cut based on their best guess on what it should be… even if they undersold him, as long as he managed to get a few thousand dollars out of this. 

“Should be a couple of mil atleast.” Sam added, stretching. “More if we are lucky.”

_ Well, atleast I didn’t lose my ability to be shocked…  _ Robby thought numbly. 

He stood frozen in place while the rest of them continued to pack stuff up. It took them a while to notice that he wasn’t moving.

“You okay kid?” Dean asked, looking concerned. 

“A couple of million dollars?” Robby’s voice was barely above a squeak. “You are fucking kidding me right?”

Sam gave him an indulgent laugh. “Dude, look at the stuff we’ve got. I mean, Excalibur alone… a one of a kind, famous, ancient sword… even if it’s a dud now, it’s still a collector’s item.”

That made sense, Robby thought, nodding slowly. 

“First things first.” Dean said, handing Robby one of the duffel bags and heaving another one over his shoulder. “Rowena - you sure the spell on this place will keep the fire contained inside?”

“For the hundredth time, yes.” Rowena confirmed. 

“And there is nothing dangerous here that’s gonna get out?” Sam asked. “Nothing that’s gonna come bite us in the ass.”

“Not that I can tell.” Rowena shrugged. “If there is something then it’s so well hidden that it’ll probably just get locked in forever once you destroy the place.”

The Winchesters nodded in unison, satisfied. 

“Alright. Let’s get out of here.”

He set the timer and Rowena broke the tablet clean in half. Another flash of light and they were back in the woods - like they’d never left. 

Only the three of them, though. Rowena had disappeared. 

“Oh c’mon!” Dean yelled skywards. “Atleast help us carry this crap to the car! BITCH!”

* * *

Robby couldn’t stop talking… couldn’t stop thinking about his upcoming windfall during the ride back. Sure, he knew that he was probably jinxing it, but he didn’t care. Even the prospect of having that much money…

It wasn’t like he hadn’t imagined having that kind of money. Every kid did that. But the fantasy had never felt so real to him before. 

How much even was a million dollars? What could he actually buy with that?

“What are you guys gonna do with your share?” He asked, excitedly. 

“Nothing.” Sam smiled. “We usually end up needing that kind of money in a pinch - so we’ll save it for that.”

“Oh...” That was… disappointing. “What about your lives? Do you… get paid for this work?”

“I wish.” Dean laughed. “Naah… we mostly just get by on credit card scams. Worked pretty well for us so far.”

“Why…?” Robby frowned. “I mean.. If you can have all this money...”

“Days like this are pretty rare, actually.” Sam explained. “Most of the occult stuff we find is either too dangerous or too useful. Finding something harmless that you can actually sell… that doesn’t happen very often.”

Robby nodded slowly, trying to put his finger on what felt wrong here. 

_ If that’s true then… why are you sharing this with me? _

“Still… you could use the money for something right?” He suggested instead. “Like… buying a new car. Then you can get rid of this old - ”

His eyes met Dean’s in the rearview mirror and the look in them made him stop short. 

“Say another word.” The voice was cold enough to send a chill through his spine. “I fucking dare you.”

Sam laughed. “Forgot the most important rule.” He told Robby. “Dean has a real unhealthy relationship with his car. So… not a word.”

“Okay… sorry.”

“Damn right you are.” Dean said, gently stroking the dashboard. “Don’t listen to him, Baby. Dumb kid doesn’t know what he is talking about...”


	6. Runaway

“Kid did good today...”

Sam hmmd in response, without looking up. 

He shouldn’t be doing this, Robby knew. He shouldn’t be pretending to be asleep while eavesdropping on their conversation. He knew they wouldn’t be talking about him if they knew he was awake. 

“Followed orders like a champ.” Dean continued. “He listened to us. Like, really listened.”

“Yeah...” Sam agreed.

“Pretty good at taking initiative too.” Dean added. “I know going back to the vampires was dumb… but hey, we’ve been dumber.”

“I guess...”

So, it sounded like Sam wasn’t a big fan of his…

“Have you seen him fight?” Dean went on. “There are some viral videos online. The kid can move. Really handle himself in a brawl. If he had the right kind of training...”

Sam sighed, shutting his laptop down.

“No, Dean.” He said, firmly. “The answer is no.”

“Dunno what you mean.” Dean said defensively. 

“We are not keeping him.” His voice was low, so as not to wake Robby up. “We are not letting him tag along. We are not taking him in. Once we have the money, we are sending the kid on his way.”

_ And this is why you don’t eaversdrop. Nothing good comes of it. _

“That’s not what I was asking...” 

“Weren’t you?” There was an edge in Sam’s voice. “The moment you saw him, you’ve been going out of your way to help him. Just because the kid’s a lot like you - ”

“He’s nothing like me.” Dean said indignantly. “I loved dad. Kid hates his.”

“Yeah… because our dad was always there for us.” Sam replied. “But Robby? He is a lot like you. Desperate to find a family, afraid to be alone, so self-sacrificing that it’s almost self-destructive... ”

“And what’s wrong with that?” There was an edge in Dean’s voice now.

“Nothing.” Sam replied. “I hope he finds his family. His… people. I really do. But it can’t be us. Not after everything that has happened.”

_ My past. They are talking about my past. Stuff that I can’t blame on a demon. They looked me up, they found out who I was and now they don’t want anything to do with me.  _

“Yeah… you are right.” Dean sighed. “Probably a bad idea. So… Jody?”

“You think that’s a good idea?” Sam mused. “Asking her to take in another one?”

“Hey, it’s a boy this time...” Dean shrugged. 

“I’ll ask her.” Sam replied. 

They couldn’t wait to get rid of him. They were already wondering what unsuspecting sucker they could pawn him off on… and then next and then next… They couldn’t just kick him out, could they? No - because they were heroes and heroes didn’t do shit like that. 

But they definitely didn’t want him around…

_ Well, fuck them. I don’t want to be around them either. _

* * *

It wasn’t stealing. It was his money after all. The money they’d promised him anyway. In fact, if you did the math, they were probably gonna come up ahead. He’d left all the bigger, more important stuff and only taken a few small items. The Hand of Glory, the Spirit-repelling statue, the Medallion… stuff they told him wasn’t worth as much as the rest. 

And if they’d been lying… if they’d been using some reverse-psychology crap and this stuff was more valuable than they let on… then it served them right. 

Robby hoisted his backpack a higher and walked along the road a little faster. 

They were going to come looking for him, he was sure of that. People like them… people who thought they were saving wayward kids from themselves… they never gave up right away. So it was up to Robby to make it harder for them. 

Steal a car or two and ditch them a few blocks over as a false lead. 

Go to the bus station and let the camera see you buy a ticket. 

And then head out of town on foot and walk to the next one over. Hitchhike if you have to, but keep to the backroads.

Just make it hard enough so they can tell themselves they tried to find you, but there was no helping you after all.

_ I could’ve stolen your car too, but I didn’t. Just be happy about that and let me go. _

Having ditched his phone as well, Robby had no idea how much more he had to walk to get to the next town over. So he was pretty relieved to hear the distant rumble of an approaching vehicle. 

_ Just let me catch a ride,  _ he thought, turning around,  _ and please don’t be a murderer.  _

It was the Impala. 

He stood rooted in spot, watching it get closer… faster…

_ How… how did they find me so fast? I did everything right… _

_ No… why did they find me at all? Why are they looking for me? _

_ Because you stole from them, dumbass? You think they are really gonna let you walk away with those valuables? _

He turned and ran into the woods by the road. He heard the car come to a screeching halt behind him, but he’d already put some good distance between them He looked over his shoulder to make sure they were out of sight and started running as fast as he could, looking for a place to hide. 

And there it was… a dip in the ground where everything sloped downwards… a point covered by foliage… perfect place to hide. Robby dove in and pressed himself back against the damp ground as much as possible, trying to get his panting under control. 

Minutes later, he heard the approaching footsteps.

_ Just keep moving….  _ He begged silently.  _ Just keep moving and then give up. Don’t make me do this again… _

The footsteps were getting quieter, but with the bush muffling all sounds, he couldn’t tell whether they were moving farther away or simply slowing down. He pressed himself in deeper and prayed. 

“You know, kid, if you want to hide from a hunter, don’t do it in the woods.” Dean’s voice said from above him. “I learned how to track when I was 10 years old.”

A bluff. No way he knew exactly where Robby was. He’d have dragged him out physically if he had. 

“And by the way, your shoe is sticking out.” Dean added. 

Could he be more embarrassed? Found out like a child hiding under the bed. 

Sheepishly, Robby crawled out of his hidey-hole and and stood before Dean, red-faced. 

“SAMMY! FOUND HIM!” Dean bellowed out and then shook his head. “Seriously man, what were you thinking? Bolting like that?”

“Look, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have stolen from you.” Robby said, defensively. “I only took what you promised me.”

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked, confused. 

Reluctantly, Robby handed his backpack over to him and Dean zipped it open to examine the contents. 

“You took all this?” He asked, perplexed. 

“Yeah...” Didn’t he know that already? Wasn’t that why they’d hunted him down? “You didn’t… know?”

“Never had the time to check.” Dean replied. “You were gone this morning and we were running around all over the place looking for you.”

_ Why…? _

Sam showed on the scene before Robby could ask the question. He looked relieved for a moment when he saw him… and then angry…

“Seriously?” He growled. “Again?”

“Hey Sammy, take this stuff back to the car.” Dean threw him Robby’s backpack. “Me and the kid need to have a chat.”

“Dean - ”

“Sam!” Dean said, more forcefully. “Now!”

With a huff, Sam acquiesced and left. And Dean casually sauntered to the slope, clearing a place for himself to sit down. 

“C’mon.” He said, indicating the empty space next to him. 

_ He can catch you any time he wants. He has already proven that. So running is not an option. _

Robby sat down beside him. 

“First of all,” Dean started. “Stealing that shit was a really dumb idea.”

“You said it was harmless.” Robby reminded him. 

“It’s also useless.” Dean replied. “What was the plan here? Take it to the next pawnshop you saw and get what you could?”

Robby shrugged. 

“You’d be lucky to get five bucks.” Dean told him. “Stuff like that, it’s only valuable to the right customer. People who know about this shit. You know anyone like that?”

Robby shook his head. 

“See? Dumb.” Dean sighed. “Why did you run in the first place? Were you worried we were gonna cut you out of the deal?”

_ No… not that. You didn’t need to include me in the deal in the first place… _

“I just didn’t want to be around you guys.” Robby replied defiantly. 

“So… why run?” Dean asked. “You could’ve just told us that. And we’d have dropped you off wherever you wanted to go. You thought we were gonna make you our prisoner or something?”

Robby shook his head. This was getting even more embarrassing for him by the second. 

“So… you want us to drop you off somewhere?” Dean asked. 

_ Where? I have nowhere left to go... _

“Don’t do me any favors, alright!” Robby snapped. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need you. Any of you. So if you don’t want me around...”

He’d said too much… he realized a second too late. 

“So, that’s it, huh?” Dean said, nodding. “You think we don’t want you around?”

“Why would you?” Robby said defiantly. “You don’t even know me. It hasn’t even been a week since we met for real. Why would you want me around after just a few days?”

“You’re right.” Dean agreed. 

“And ofcourse, once you found out about my past...” Robby said, bitterly. “I just can’t escape it, can I?”

“No… you are wrong there.” Dean replied. “I don’t care about your past.”

“Sam does.” Robby said. “I heard you guys last night. The moment you guys found out about it… the stuff I did, you couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

“What? Like juvie and stuff?” Dean asked. “Dude, we’ve known about that stuff for weeks.”

“Bullshit.” Robby looked at him skeptically. 

“We do our research, okay?” Dean chuckled. “We didn’t just run into your demon out of nowhere. We did our homework. You and him.”

That didn’t make sense. “Then… why are you trying so hard to help me? If you know about all that, then you gotta know that I’m… I’m...”

“A bad person?” Dean scoffed. “Please, Robby, your mistakes don’t even compare to some we’ve made.”

“I accidentally kicked a kid over the balcony and almost crippled him for life.” Robby said, challengingly. “Could’ve killed him.”

“Yeah… and Sam accidentally freed the devil and started the apocalypse.” Dean replied. “Trust me kid, you start comparing mistakes and you’re gonna lose. Badly. Your screw-ups are not even in the same league as ours.”

Robby stared at him thoughtfully. 

“But you fixed yours.” He said, finally. “You stopped the apocalypse… right?”

“There is no fixing something like that.” Dean shook his head. “Yeah, we stopped things from getting worse… but all the people we got killed, they didn’t come back to life, did they?”

“So...” Robby felt sick to his heart. “How do you live with something like that?”

“Keep fighting.” Dean shrugged. “Keep trying to do the right thing.”

Was he missing something here? Robby had been so sure that he had them all figured out. 

“So… if Sam gets it, then why does my past matter so much to him?”

“It doesn’t.” Dean replied. “Robby… he was talking about our past.” He sighed deeply. “We’ve… lost a lot of people over the years, kid. We lost our mom to a demon when I was four. The same thing later came back for Sam’s girlfriend. And then our dad...”

“It’s still around?” Robby asked, his heart skipping a beat.

Dean shook his head. “But there were other things. Worse ones. We fought monsters and the monsters fought back… we lost friends… we lost family… and we’d rather not have you join that list.”

“So you want to get rid of me to protect me?” Robby scoffed. “That’s such bullshit. You still have people in your life, don’t you? You got friends… and family. You and Sam - you have each-other. I got no one.”

“You can.” Dean argued. “Listen - you are not the first lost kid we’ve come across, okay? There have been a lot of others in messed up situations too… and this lady we are talking about? She’s a good person. And she really cares about kids. She can help you build a life for yourself… find friends… maybe even love...”

_ So it can be like Mr. LaRusso all over again? Someone to fix me, fix my life, only for it to fall apart? _

“I don’t want that.” Robby replied. “I don’t need that shit. I’ve tried that before and it never works out for me.”

“So what do you need?” Dean asked. “What are you looking for here?”

“I… don’t know...”

But he did know…He’d thought long and hard about it through the sleepless night and come to an answer this morning… He’d decided on what he was going to do next no matter what.

“You’re not gonna like it.” Robby warned. 

“Tell me.”

“The last few days… I need more days like those.” Robby told him. “All my life, no matter what I did, I felt like I kept making things worse for everybody… whether I was trying to help or to hurt, it always ended bad... ” He looked up at Dean with pleading eyes. “But the last few days… it was the first time I felt like I was doing something right. Even if I screwed up, it felt right. It felt like what I was doing mattered. That I… mattered. Does that make sense?”

Dean nodded slowly. “Yeah. It does.”

“I need more of that.” Robby said, firmly. “And I’m gonna get it, one way or the other.”

Dean sighed. “Alright...”

“Alright?”

“Alright… let’s go.” Dean said, getting up and dusting the back of his jeans. “Or do you wanna live in the woods the rest of your life?”

Robby got up and quietly followed him, uncertain of what the next step was here. He couldn’t exactly run right now… Sam had his backpack after all. Maybe he’d just have to stick with them for a while.

Sam was waiting for them by the car, hands angrily shoved deep in his pockets. 

“Good talk?” He asked tersely as they approached. 

“Yeah.” Dean nodded. 

“You talk some sense into him?”

“Yeah… and we’ve decided.” Dean replied. “Kid’s gonna come back with us and we’ll train him to be a hunter.”

Robby’s eyes widened at the declaration, but it was nothing compared to the flabbergasted look on Sam’s face. And then he got livid…

“Dean...” He snarled.

“Sam! It’s decided.” Dean said firmly. “Deal with it.”

He got into the car without another backward glance. And after letting Robby slide into the backseat, Sam got in as well, the muscle in his jaw still twitching uncontrollably. 


	7. Bootcamp

He readied himself for disappointment when he heard the word “bunker.”

Of course, he should’ve expected that. These guys were like paramilitary survivalists, after all. Obviously they were not going to have a nice white-picket house with a pool somewhere. They lived dangerous lives, so of course they’d need some place secure and secret.

So when they rolled up to the edge of the woods outside the small town, Robby was already resigned. And determined. He’d made his choice and he’d get through it. He’d stay in the dark and dank place with the flickering overhead lights. He’d sleep on the lumpy mattress on the hard metal frame. He’d eat cold chilli right from the can. He’d use a bucket to shit in and wash himself with a cold, wet towel…

_ What the fuck is this? _

“You call this a bunker?” Robby exclaimed. “This… this is...”

“Awesome, right?” Dean grinned. “It’s home sweet home.”

Robby glared at them. Going around, acting like they didn’t care about money… like they were poor and had to run scams to eat…

“Exactly how rich are you guys?” He asked. 

“We didn’t pay for any of this.” Dean explained. “We kind of inherited it. This place was built by a secret organization called Men of Letters. Our grandfather was a member - but they all got killed back in the 50's. This place was just lying empty all these years until we took over.”

They just lucked into it?

“So… anyone could’ve just walked in and taken over?” Robby asked. 

“No… this place is protected. Kind of like that warehouse we just raided.” Sam replied. “You need a key to access it… or be invited by someone who has it. And that would be us.”

Robby nodded, taking in the lavish setup.

“Do I… get my own room?” He asked, hoping he wasn’t overreaching. 

“You can pick your own room.” Dean shrugged.

“And… TV?” He asked. 

“Kids still watch those?” Dean scoffed. “Wouldn’t you rather just have a laptop?”

“I can have a laptop?”

“You’re gonna need one, if you want to be a hunter.” Sam reminded him. “And you won’t have much time to have fun. Your training starts today.”

* * *

Robby snarled in frustration, twisting his body, futilely trying to escape Sam’s grip. 

“Not good enough.” Sam hissed. “If I was a monster I’d have ripped your throat out by now. Figure a way out.”

_ Easy for you to say. You are built like a fucking tank.  _

“You think it’s unfair? That I’m asking too much? Every single monster out there is stronger and faster than us humans. You want to survive out there? You need to learn how - ”

Robby twisted his body and spat in his eye. More surprised than blinded, Sam jerked back, loosening his grip and allowing Robby to slip out. 

His opponent was six foot five and made of pure muscle. Robby had scored more punches and kicks, but the guy had shrugged them off like he barely felt them. 

_ And I’m supposed to fight things even stronger than him? _

So if that wasn’t going to work…

Robby rolled away, out of Sam’s reach, right to the edge of the mat where the equipment was. He grabbed a dumbbell and swung… only to find his wrist caught mid-air.

“Okay… that’s enough.” Sam said, letting him loose. 

_ Shit! What did I just do? I fought dirty… spat in his eye, picked up a weapon… _

But Sam didn’t look angry. 

“Good.” He nodded approvingly. “You are finally using your head.”

“Again!” Sam commanded. 

“But I just assembled it.” Robby complained. 

Sam picked up the gun lying in front of him and methodically disassembled it, letting the pieces drop on the table. 

“You are still taking too long. You should be under a minute already. So today, we won’t stop until you are.” 

“You like to read, right?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah...” Robby replied, tentatively. Uncertain of how it’d be turned against him. 

“Good. There you go.” He pushed a cart full of huge tomes in front of him. “Finish this as soon as you can.”

“What the hell is this?” Robby asked, his voice an octave higher. 

“Research.” Sam replied. “Books on monsters out there - their types, feeding habits, preferred hunting cycles, climate preferences, ways to kill them… the whole lot. You wanna be a hunter? You need to know what you are hunting and where and how to kill it.”

Sure, that made sense. But…

“Can’t I just google that?” 

“No, you can’t.” Sam replied. “Most of the stuff on there is pure crap. This is the real deal - and you need to be familiar with them all. Start with this.” He threw a beat up looking journal on top. “That’s my dad’s journal… everything he knew about everything he hunted...”

“There you go.” Sam slammed a stack of old newspapers on the desk.

“What’s this?” Robby looked up at him. 

“Pop quiz.” Sam explained. “There are around 10 supernatural cases in there - read through them, find them and tell me about it. Tell me what kind of monster we are dealing with, where and how you’d go about tracking it down and killing it.”

Robby looked at the dates on there. 

“But this stuff is from 20 years ago...”

“You got 3 hours.”

_ Please let me sleep for once. Just one night’s good sleep. That’s all I ask.  _

No such luck. He woke up choking and coughing as a huge hand wrapped around his throat. 

“And… you’re dead.” Sam said, letting him go. “You should’ve been up and on your guard the moment I sneaked into the room.”

“But… I set up an alarm this time...” Robby said in a raspy voice.

“Your little trip-wire?” Sam scoffed. “I stepped over it. Now get up. It’s time for target practice.”

Robby groaned. “Can I brush my teeth first? Wash my face?”

“No!” Sam pulled him up by the arm. “You need to be able to shoot straight even when you are not 100%. Monsters aren’t gonna wait around for you to pretty up before they try to kill you.”

“Drink!” 

Robby regarded the stinking brown concoction suspiciously. 

“What is it?” 

“African dream root.” Sam replied. “With a dash of djinn venom.”

He’d read about that stuff in one of Sam’s long, long lessons.

“Oh… uh… that’s okay.” Robby turned him down. “My mom always taught me to just say no.”

Sam chuckled. “Well, it’s going down the hatch one way or the other.”

Robby sighed. This was another kind of training. 

“What’s some point of this?”

“You got some bad stuff in your head, right?” Sam explained. “Stuff that happened to you… stuff you did… stuff you were made to do...”

“Yeah...” Robby said, with trepidation. He didn’t want to think about that again.

“This will make you relive it.” Sam went on. 

“Are you  _ fucking  _ kidding me?” Robby screamed. “Why would I want to live through that again?”

“Because you have to.” Sam sighed. “Not all monsters attack your body, kid. If you let your past make you weak...”

That was true. That’s what the demon had done, after all. Both Sam and Dean had told him that the thing could’ve taken over his body any time it wanted, but it’d decided to toy with him before that. To torture him with his own thoughts, his own insecurities. 

“So this will help me deal with it? To get past it?” Robby asked. If he could be done with the nightmares once and for all…

Sam shook his head. “There is no getting past it. The best you can hope is to not let it control you.” He sighed. “Robby… there is no such thing as a well-adjusted, sane hunter. Well-adjusted people don’t choose this line of work. Every one of us has something in our past driving us into this life… which is okay because if nothing was driving us, no one would do this work. And it needs to be done. But your past… it needs to drive you forward, not hold you back. You need to use it, instead of letting it use you.”

Robby nodded uncomfortably. “That sounds a lot like what my last Sensei taught me.” He told Sam. “To use my anger… my hatred… this sounds a lot like the same thing.”

“It’s not.” Sam replied. “Anger and hatred… that will make you destroy things. But you want the opposite, right? To save people?”

Robby nodded. “So how does this work? What am I supposed to do here?”

“Drink.” Sam said. “You’ll fall asleep. You’ll have the worst acid trip of your life. It’ll be one nightmare after another - but you need to push past it and wake yourself up.”

“And… if I can’t?”

“Then I’ll wake you up and we’ll try again tomorrow.”

* * *

He hadn’t realized it right away, but when he’d first met them, Dean and Sam had reminded him of his dad and Mr. LaRusso respectively. 

Dean had seemed like your babes, beer and barbecue kind of guy. The stereotypical overconfident, undereducated redneck who actually took pride in using a cassette-deck in his gas guzzler. He was gruff, snarky and he didn’t do “feelings”. His idea of a heart-to-heart was sitting down with a beer and talking about car troubles. 

Sam, on the other hand, had seemed calm, gentle and nurturing. The kind of guy who’d sit you down to talk about your hopes and dreams and tell you to believe in yourself. The one who’d ask you if you were comfortable, if you were eating right, if you’d slept properly… one who’d talk about the value of education and making something of yourself.

But those similarities had been superficial. And over the months that Robby lived with them, he came to know them a lot better. 

Dean was smart - like wicked smart - but in a way he didn’t even know he was. He taught Robby all about fighting with weapons, building bombs, laying traps, hacking computers and tracking monsters. He could pick out a case from a single odd line in news. And while he never talked about “feelings”, he didn’t miss much either. Somehow… in some weird way… he always knew when Robby was having a tough time with things… and he was always there to distract him with stuff like a trip to the strip-club, a cookout or just a drive next town over. 

But most importantly, Dean never gave up on people. That was something he’d learned when he read the books about them.

_ (Seriously? God wrote books about them? What the hell did I get myself into?) _

For the ones he cared about - and even those he didn’t - Dean always fought to the bitter end and then some. Robby already knew that he was never going to mean that much to the guy… not as much as Sam or the angel called Cas… but he got even a tenth of that…

Well, Johnny could never do that for him…

And Sam…

When it came to training him, he was nothing like Mr. LaRusso… or even Johnny. He was worse than Kreese… a thousand times worse. 

And yet, somehow, a thousand times better than Mr. LaRusso at the same time. 

He wasn’t trying to manipulate him - that was the difference. He wasn’t trying to use him or work something out through him. He didn’t… “measure” his words with Robby. He didn’t try to only say things he thought Robby wanted to hear. The way he interacted with him felt genuine. Like how he touched his shoulder after an intense session of training - it didn’t feel like a calculated move like Kreese’s or like a deliberate act of kindness like Mr. LaRusso… it just felt natural.

He was putting him through hell… that was for sure. Even at its worst Cobra Kai had never left him feeling this exhausted and defeated. 

“You are the worst Sensei I’ve ever had.” Robby had told him once out of frustration.

“You think I’m trying to be your Sensei?” Sam had scoffed. “Dude… anyone who tells you they’ve figured out the secret of how you should live your life is full of shit. You need to figure that crap out on your own… I’m just trying to make sure you don’t end up dead before you do.”

Fear. That was the thing driving Sam like this. That had been the reason behind his ultimatum that Robby was not going to do any fieldwork before Sam declared him ready for it. Something had happened… they’d lost someone ( _ many someones, Dean had told him _ ) and Sam was determined not to let it happen to Robby. 

And if that meant making him train like that…

* * *

“You’re too hard on the kid.” Dean was saying. “Even dad didn’t put us through half of that crap.”

“He should’ve.” Sam replied tersely. “If he had, maybe you’d have learned to eat your veggies.”

Robby stopped short right outside the kitchen, waiting to hear more. 

“Sam, I’m serious.” Dean continued. “Robby wants to hunt and we should give him a chance. He knows more than enough already. He can handle himself.”

“Dean...” Sam’s voice was tight with anger. “We had a deal. You agreed to it. I decide when he’s ready.”

“Sam… he’s not Kevin. It won’t end like that.”

Kevin… Tran? Robby had heard that name before. 

“Ofcourse he’s not Kevin.” Sam snapped. “Kevin never had a choice. He didn’t choose to become a prophet. He didn’t choose to be hunted by demons and angels. He never had a choice… and he never had a chance. But Robby does. He can walk away from this life before he gets in too deep.”

“Is that what you are trying to do?” Dean asked. “Make him quit?”

“I’m trying to keep him alive...” Sam insisted.

Robby had heard enough. 

“Who the hell asked you to?” He said, coming in. “You think I can’t survive on my own?”

If either of them was embarrassed at being caught talking about him, they didn’t show it. 

“Robby...” Sam started. 

“No, seriously. Who asked you to keep me alive?” Robby cut him off. “I was surviving just fine on the streets and I can go back to that any time I want. But that’s not the life I want.”

“I get it. I get that you want to make a difference...” Sam sighed. “But you won’t make a difference if you end up dead either.”

“I won’t. I can fight.” Robby insisted. “If you just gave me a chance to prove myself...”

That was the problem, wasn’t it? Sam didn’t believe in him. Just like everybody else. Even Mr. LaRusso… he’d pretended to, but the moment he’d found his daughter with him…

“Prove what, Robby? That you’re a good person? That you're a badass?” Sam sounded tired. “You think that’s what hunting is about? Proving yourself?”

“That mindset… that’s the reason you are still not ready.” Sam told him, getting up. 

He left Robby with that thought without another word. And for a while, Dean didn’t say anything to make it better either.

“If he wants to get rid of me, he should just say so.” Robby said, sullenly. 

“If he wanted that, he would’ve.” Dean replied evenly. 

“C’mon, it’s obvious he doesn’t want me here.” Robby argued. 

“No… he wants you here. And not out there.” Dean sighed, sitting up. “Look, you are already helping us out a lot. You do research on whatever monster or spell we call you about. You pretend to be FBI for us when we are on a job. You take care of anyone who comes around when we are not here. You’re doing half the job already… but without the risk. If you can be okay with that much, Sam would back off.”

Robby shook his head stubbornly. 

“It’s not the same.” He replied. “You guys are actually out there, making a difference. You see the people you help, you see the lives you save… and yeah, I know what I’m doing here helps too, but it doesn’t feel like it. It doesn’t  _ feel  _ like I’m doing anything and I need that.”

“You also don’t need to see the people you fail.” Dean told him. “You don’t have to see them die.”

“That won’t happen.” Robby said confidently. “Not if I do my job right.”

He got a sad shake of the head from Dean for that. 

“Sam’s right. You are not ready after all.”


	8. Visitors

Sam Winchester was full of shit…

Robby didn’t come to that conclusion lightly. Or even overnight. It took him a long, long time to put it all together and the people who visited the bunker were the biggest clue.

“Out of my way, punk.” The dirty, stinking girl angrily pushed past him when he opened the door and went inside like she owned the place. 

“Sorry...” The one behind her apologized for her friend’s behavior and Robby stepped aside to let her in, a little mesmerized. 

She was really pretty, he noticed. Skinny - all angles and bones - with big brown eyes and long brunette curls. The other one? Not so much. Her hair was limp and soggy, her skin looked pasty and tinged with green and her clothes were messy and smelled of something bad.

“I’m Kaia.” The brunette introduced herself. “And the rude one is Claire. The Winchesters told you about us?”

Robby nodded. They’d told him they had friends in the area who might drop by for a visit and that he was supposed to just let them in and not worry about it. 

“Hey… I’m Robby.”

She smiled and nodded. 

“Where is he?” Claire growled from downstairs, already looking around. “Where the hell is Dean Winchester?”

“Out. On a hunt.” Robby told her, coming down the stairs with Kaia. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Claire snarled. “What’s wrong is, Selkies fucking explode. That’s what’s wrong. When you stab them, they pop like a goddamn water balloon.”

Robby stared at her, confused, as Claire paced around like a lioness in a cage and Kaia somehow suppressed her laughter. 

“Oh… it’s an easy hunt, Claire.” The blonde mumbled, sotto-voce. “Selkies are simple. Just stab them with the blessed dagger and you are done. They don’t even leave a body behind. Not even a mess to clean-up. Does this look like no-mess to you?”

Robby bit his lip, trying not to laugh as well. 

“When will they be back?” Claire glared daggers at both of them. 

“Not sure.” Robby replied. 

“Well… I’m not leaving until I kill that asshole.” The messy girl declared and got ready for the vigil.

“Could you… not sit there…?” Robby stopped her just as she was about to sit down. “I don’t think we’ll ever get the smell out.”

Claire looked about ready to murder him. 

“He’s right, honey.” Kaia interjected. “You do need to shower.”

Okay, so maybe he was wrong. Claire really was pretty… when she wasn’t covered head to toe in selkie guts.

Much nicer too…

“So… turned into a vampire, huh?” She mused, drinking her beer. “That must have sucked.”

Robby hmmed. 

“I got turned into a werewolf.” She told him. “Thought that was it for me too.”

“But Sam and Dean wouldn’t give up?” Robby was sensing a pattern there.

“They wouldn’t give up.” Claire confirmed. “Didn’t want me to hunt either. Sent me to Jody so I could have a safe, normal life. But… I guess I was just too stubborn.”

So Claire had been like him too. Another lost kid, looking for somewhere to belong…

“I was possessed by a demon before that.” Robby said, feeling weirdly competitive. 

“That must have sucked.” Claire shrugged. “I was possessed by an angel.”

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t going to win this one. 

“What about you?” He turned to Kaia instead. “What was your first encounter with a monster?”

“Being one...” Kaia replied, shyly.

“She’s not a monster - she’s a dreamwalker.” Claire spoke up immediately. “She can visit other worlds in her sleep.”

“Oh...” Those existed? “That sounds… awesome.”

“It’s not.” Kaia replied. 

So… ex-werewolves who used to be possessed by angels and dreamwalkers? And he was no different than them…

His life was now officially weird.

Claire found him in the gym the next day, working on a punching back. He wasn’t allowed to take it easy just because Sam wasn’t around and he had no doubt Claire would narc on him if he slacked off. 

“So… you been on a real hunt before?” She asked, putting her own workout gloves on.

“Sure.” Robby replied between punches. “I was the victim, remember?”

That made her laugh. “I mean as a hunter.”

Robby shook his head, embarrassed. Claire wasn’t that much older than him and yet she’d been hunting for years. She’d even started when she was younger than him, apparently. 

“They won’t let me until I’m ready.” Robby told her. 

“Yeah… Jody tried the same thing with me. But I didn’t listen.” She said. Then seemed to realize her mistake. “But you should… Sam and Dean really know what they are doing.”

Robby nodded and went back to his workout. 

“Hey - let’s see what they’ve taught you so far.” She suggested, inviting him to the mat.

“Uh...” Robby looked at her uncertainly. “I don’t think I should.”

“C’mon, you are not one of those guys too chicken to hit a girl, are you?” Claire asked, annoyed. 

_ No - just scared of getting my ass kicked by one.  _

Claire was already a professional hunter while Robby was still in training. Getting thrown around by Sam was one thing, but getting beat by a girl smaller than you was embarrassing no matter what. 

“You can’t hold back against a monster just because it’s a girl, alright?” Claire continued. “They can be just as strong and vicious.”

Well, it wasn’t like he had a real excuse here. Resigned, Robby shrugged and stepped onto the mat opposite to her. She bounced on her feet a little, loosening up and feinted a few hits while Robby watched her closely, trying to keep Sam’s lessons in mind. 

Monsters were almost always stronger and faster. They didn’t tire either and a lot of them didn’t feel pain. But their bodies worked on the same principles as humans. They needed enough lead-up for their hits to pack a punch. They used their joints for leverage. They had the same blind-spots. Target those and the strength won’t matter as much. 

Claire’s fist swung wide and Robby saw it almost in slow motion. He dodged and grabbed it, pulling her off-balance and tripped her at the same time. The next second she was on the mat with Robby pinning her arm across her neck. 

“You got lucky.” Claire said, disentangling herself and getting up.

Robby nodded as he got back into position. That must have been it. Claire was a pro after all. So either that or she was deliberately messing with him, trying to get him to underestimate her. 

The second round ended the same way.

“What the hell have they been teaching you?” Claire asked, irate. 

“Umm… same things they taught you, I guess.” Robby replied, uncertain and confused. 

“The Winchesters never trained me.” Claire frowned. “I told you - I work with Jody.”

Yes she had… but he’d thought…

“Taking monsters on in hand-to-hand is stupid anyway.” Claire shrugged. “Smarter to use guns.”

Dean had told him the same thing. 

And as it turned out, Robby was a better shot as well. 

“It’s so not fair.” Claire was complaining. “He’s training with Sam and Dean. Like… Sam and Dean Winchester. How’s anyone supposed to compete with that?”

Robby wasn’t sure what to make of that. He’d never gotten the feeling that it was that big of a deal. 

“Ofcourse it’s a big deal.” Kaia said, much calmer than her girlfriend. “Those guys are kind of the best hunters out there. The crap they deal with...”

“I thought all hunters did that.” Robby said. 

Claire barked out a laugh. “You got a lot to learn, kid. Sam and Dean were always special. And I guess, now so are you.” She finished a little bitterly. 

“But they must have trained others before.” Robby argued, trying to remember. “What about that Tran guy?”

“Kevin?” Claire frowned. “I never actually met him but… from what I know, he was never a fighter. He spent most of his time shut inside the bunker and translating old texts for Sam and Dean. Those guys were always too busy to actually take anyone on so...”

“So… I’m the first?” That made him feel weirdly proud and happy. 

“Don’t let it get to your head.” Claire snapped. “It’s because you are a boy. Those two neanderthals don’t know how to handle girls. They get all flustered and awkward trying to play dads.”

“Yeah… that must be it.” Robby lied, nodding. 

Her phone pinging saved Claire for any further awkward conversation. 

“Well… time to go, I guess.” She said, looking at the screen. “Jody’s got a case.”

He was getting used to this now. Hunters always dropped everything at a moment’s notice when a case came along. 

“Tell Dean I  _ am  _ going to get him back for the selkie, okay?” Claire told Robby as they left. “And get your ass out there soon. We can use someone like you.”

Robby nodded, feeling proud inside. 

_ Soon.  _

* * *

The flannel shirt. The trucker cap. The weather-beaten face with the graying beard… Robby recognized the grumpy grandpa right away. And he’d learned enough to know what it meant. 

“Don’t move!” He said as sternly as he could, pointing the shotgun at him. They always kept one right by the door. 

The monster didn’t even look fazed. 

“Point that thing somewhere else, ya idjit!” He snapped. 

“ROBBY!” Dean yelled, rushing up the stairs. “Hey, it’s okay! He’s a friend.”

_ You mean was, right? _

“It’s Bobby Singer, right?” Robby asked, never taking his eyes off the target. “But Bobby Singer died. So this is either a ghost or a shifter or a revenant - ”

“Or Bobby Singer from another world.” Bobby supplied. “Now are you gonna put that down or do I put you down?”

Dean got there in time to prevent the guy from carrying out his threat. 

“How the heck are you, Bobby?” He asked, pulling the old man into a one-armed hug. 

The grumpy old man grunted but returned the hug anyway. And sheepishly, Robby put the shotgun back in its place. 

“Sorry...” He muttered. “I didn’t know...”

“Hmmm… Well, can’t blame you for being careful.” Bobby replied with a twinkle in his eye. “Tell you what - you can make it up to me by getting me a beer.”

Bobby was there about a case. Something he hadn’t seen before - in this world or his own. 

“This thing’s a real picky eater.” He told them. “Hearts, liver, pancreas, lungs and brain… and for some reason, eyeballs. Never heard of any monster that prefers that combo.”

“Maybe it’s not just one monster.” Sam mused. “We came across this guy once that was selling human parts to monsters online. Could be something like that.”

“No...” Dean shook his head. “They wouldn’t be wasting the rest of it in that case.”

They discussed and debated for hours… went through a whole bunch of books to find any possible reference and put Robby to work with them. But there was nothing they could find that fed on that combination of organs. 

“Maybe...” Robby started, without thinking. 

_ The adults are talking. They don’t want to hear your stupid kid ideas.  _

“Go on...” Bobby said. 

“Maybe it  _ is  _ just a picky eater.” Robby suggested uncertainly. “Like… it’s one of the cannibal monsters like a Wendigo or a Rugaru - but it just likes specific body-parts?”

“Monsters usually don’t do that...” Sam mulled it over. 

“Yeah… but they can.” Dean added. “This is not gonna get us anywhere. We need to find a different pattern. Is there anything on the timing of the attacks?”

“It’s in Minnesota, right?” Robby chimed in, more confident now. “Isn’t there where Wendigos are common?”

“I went back 50 years in the archives, kid.” Bobby replied. “No previous cases like this.”

“So… maybe it’s a new one?” Robby suggested. “Maybe that’s why it’s a picky eater?”

“Right… Let’s change tracks.” Dean said, getting up. “Bobby, get a map and point out all the places the killings happened. Sam and I will get everything we can on cannibalistic monsters. And Robby… go put on a pot of coffee because we’re gonna be up all night.”

Robby nodded and headed to the kitchen, preparing himself for the long hours. 

“Smart kid.” He heard Bobby say as he left. “Thinks like a hunter. You guys teach him that?”

* * *

Sam and Dean were on the Wendigo hunt with Bobby when the other two girls showed up ( _ and yes, it was a Wendigo after all! _ ).

“HE’P...” That was the shout that got Robby’s attention.

He rushed out, grabbing his gun on the way, but it was not needed after all. The redhead could barely stand without the brunette’s help. 

“I need he’p.” The brunette said loudly as she saw him. “Get Sam and Dea’!”

“They’re on a hunt.” Robby said. “What happened?”

“Mo’ster!” The brunette replied. “Sickbay! Now!”

The redhead was covered in blood and Robby somehow forced down the bile and helped the other one carry her to the infirmary.

“What happened to her?” Robby asked, freaking out as he peeled her shirt off as gently as possible. “What did this to her?”

The brunette gestured at him angrily - some kind of sign language. 

“What…. I don’t understand...”

“She’s saying untwist your panties and get the med kit.” The redhead snapped. “I’m bleeding out here.”

Robby rushed over, collecting the kit with shaking hands and ran back as fast as he could. He set it down on the table, getting out of the way to let the brunette get to work. 

She glared back at him, gesturing again. 

“What? I don’t - ”

“Arm broke’.” She explained. “You do it.”

“Me…? I’ve never...”

He’d only ever practiced stitching on chicken pieces. To do it on an actual person…

“Oh, just do it!” The redhead snapped. “If you let me bleed out here I’m gonna haunt you for the rest of your life.”

She had three parallel, deep claw marks right across her back and fixing it was nothing at all like practicing on chickens. The blood kept coming out no matter how much coagulant Robby poured on it. It made everything slippery and messy. And the way the girl jerked and cried every time Robby pushed the needle through her skin made him sure that he was doing more harm than good. 

But fifteen minutes and half a bottle of vodka later, the wound was cleaned, closed and bandaged - and Robby was scrubbing his hands raw trying to get the blood out.

“So what were you guys hunting?” Robby asked, still shaken after the whole encounter. 

“A Daeva.” Charlie - that was the redhead’s name - replied. She seemed to be taking her near-death experience much better than Robby was. “Nasty mofos.”

He’d read about them too. 

“They need to be summoned, right?” Robby asked. “Shouldn’t you have gone after the summoner?”

“It was some dumb kid who got his hands on a grimoire. Didn’t know what he was summoning - he was the first one they ripped apart. And then they went to town on his family...”

“We could’t have gotte’ there faster.” Eileen said, brokenly. With her arm in the cast, she wouldn’t be signing for a while now. And how she’d driven Charlie all the way there with a broken arm was beyond Robby. 

“I know… still...” Charlie shook her head. “Anyway… good thing you were here to help.”

_ Did I actually help much? With all the screaming and cursing… _

Eileen typed something on her phone and pressed play.

“Yes. You were pretty awesome through this all.” The phone said. “You really held it together.”

Robby found himself blushing at those words. “Uh… I don’t know about that...”

With a huff of annoyance, Eileen typed some more. 

“This thing really sucks at sarcasm.” 

Robby found himself going red for another reason.

“Don’t mind her.” Charlie laughed. “You did fine. People like her don’t understand us.”

“Wha’s that s’posed to mea’?” Eileen asked, offended. 

“It means you grew up hunting.” Charlie replied. “You grew up with all the blood and the horror. You don’t know what it’s like to deal with it for the first time.”

Eileen gave her a pissed off look while Robby nodded in agreement. 

“So… you didn’t grow up hunting either?”

Charlie shook her head. “I used to be a hacker before this.” She told him. “So I guess you could say I was always a rebel and an outsider.”

“Hacker.” Robby leaned forward, interested. “Sam and Dean are teaching me that.”

“Pfft… you call that hacking?” Charlie scoffed. “If you ever want to learn some real stuff, you come to me.”

“For real?” People made such offers, but they hardly ever meant it. 

“I owe you, right?” Charlie shrugged. “You did just save my life.”

* * *

_ “Robby, what did you do?” _

_ “You want to end up a loser like him?” _

_ “You monster. You fucking monster.” _

_ Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. _

_ “This is why I could never love you. This is why you were never worth it.” _

_ “What’s wrong with you? Why are you like this?” _

_ “This is what you deserve. You deserve to be alone.” _

_ “I tried… but there was no hope for you from the start.” _

_ “It was your fault. It was always your fault. You were born wrong. I knew it the moment I saw you. You were gonna bring me nothing but misery and that’s why I could’ve get away fast enough.” _

_ “You sick, twisted, deranger motherfucker...” _

_ “Fuck you!” Robby screamed. “Fuck all of you! You don’t decide what I am. You don’t decide what I’m worth. I get to choose that. Me. And I’m done with - ” _

Robby snapped awake, eyes flying open and lungs taking in breaths like they were running out of air. Sam was by his side a moment later, helping him sit up. 

“You did it.” He sounded both proud and scared. “You woke yourself up.”

Robby broke down crying into his chest….

It took him a few hours before he started feeling normal again. Of all the relentless training Sam had put him through, this one had to be the hardest. Being forced to confront your demons, over and over and over again… that was enough to drive anyone mad. 

But Robby had made it through… Which meant… finally…

“No.” Sam shook his head. “You’re still not ready.”

Robby blinked, nonplussed. “But… I think I found a case. A good one.”

“We’ll take care of it.” Sam told him. “After we get back from Montana.”

Robby bit his lip, hesitating. “The Montana thing sounds like a simple salt and burn. I can tag along - ”

“I said no.” Sam stood firm. “We had a deal and you are gonna stick to it. Got it?”

His breathing was getting harder. 

“Screw you.” Robby snarled. “You are never gonna keep your end of the deal, are you? You’ll just keep torturing me and telling me that I’m not ready until I quit. But guess what, I’m not gonna quit. And I am ready. I’ve been working my ass off - ”

“You think you are ready?” Sam loomed over him menacingly. “You think training in here has made you a good enough hunter already?”

“I know it hasn’t.” Robby replied, gritting his teeth. “I know the real thing is nothing like this… but I also know that I’m never gonna be ready. Not like this. I know I need to be out there… learning on the job. I know that’s how you guys got this good. And that’s what I need to do.”

For once, that seemed to render Sam speechless. It looked like he was actually considering his words. But then he shook his head again. 

“You’re not wrong.” He admitted that much. “Alright… we’ll talk about it when we get back from Montana.”

_ Talk about it? _

Robby already knew what that meant. Sam would have some new excuse ready by the time he got back. Some new training to “prove” to Robby how lacking he still was. And then he’d be stuck here for a few more months. 

Sam Winchester was full of shit. That’s what Robby was realizing now. 

Not all hunters were trained, elite super-soldiers like Sam and Dean. The more friends of theirs he saw, the more he came to realize that truth. Most of them were normal people who chose to do the work without the benefit of any special training - and they still managed to do it. 

He was already better than Claire or Kaia at fighting - with weapons and without. 

Sheriff Jody Mills, who he’d met later, was just your normal small-town cop who’d mostly dealt with drunken disorderlies her whole life. 

Bobby was old and slow and still managed to be a goddamn legend. 

Eileen managed to hunt despite being deaf. 

Charlie used to be - and still was - a total nerd through and through…

They all had more experience than him, sure, but they’d gotten that experience by actually doing the damn job. Not sitting cooped up safe inside the bunker. Sam’s theory of making him ready before going on a hunt was a load of crock. You never got completely ready - you got ready on the job. 

And the longer he stayed benched…

Five kids had already gone missing. And by the time Sam and Dean got back to take up the case, who knew how many more…

Robby could not let that happen. Robby  _ would not  _ let that happen. Screw Sam for being a stubborn hardass. And screw Dean for being such a pushover. There was work to be done here and with or without them, Robby was going to do it. 


	9. Failure

“Let’s go, Miguel!”

“You got this, Miggy!”

“Focus, Diaz! Don’t get hit.”

Robby took a deep, calming breath and focused on his opponent. 

_ Remember your lessons. Use your anger - don’t let your anger use you. He’s still recovering. You are faster than him. Stronger than him. You got this… _

Miguel charged and Robby moved to meet him. Block. Dodge. Punch. Swing. Block….

His defense was better… but so was Robby’s offense. Diaz bent backwards and sideways to avoid his punch…

_ Still not flexible enough. _

“Point, Keene!” The ref shouted. 

_ That’s 2-0… I got this. I’m gonna win this.  _

“Time!” Mr. LaRusso shouted. 

With a baleful look at his former teacher, Robby turned around and knelt on the mat, getting an approving nod from Sensei Kreese. 

The crowd was cheering for Miguel. From the very start he was the favorite to win. The applause for him when he had made it to the finals had been deafening… and each of Robby’s points had been met with nothing but groans. 

“Do you hate it?” He could hear Sensei Kreese’s voice in his head. “You think it’s unfair? Good. Take that hatred - that anger - and use it. Show them that you are the real fighter here. That no matter how much they all try to put you down, you’ll always rise to the top.”

“You can do it, Miguel!”

“Kick his ass.”

“You’re the man!”

Were they all blind? Couldn’t they see that he was winning? That he was two points ahead and he was going to finish it in the next round?

“Do you know why they all love him better? Why your own father was more of a dad to Miguel? Why your Sensei chose him over you? Why that girl…?” Kreese had smirked when he’d explained it to Robby. “It’s because he’s the hero of this story… and you are the bad guy. He’s the winner and everybody loves a winner, don’t they? He’s the inspiring, feel-good underdog… but you are the real underdog here. You are the one who is all alone, with no one in his corner. But nobody sees that, do they? All they see is that kid who broke his back and keeps winning anyway. It’s the comeback story of the century.”

“But you can have that too. If you do what I say… if you win...”

_ That’s not true Sensei. Look at them… win or lose, they’re all still gonna hate me. They’ll never love me… they’ll never choose me… they’ll never be on my side… _

_ And I don’t need them to. I’m winning this for me. _

“Fighters! Ready!”

Robby got up and took his stance. And he didn’t miss the look and the nod that passed between Miguel and Mr. LaRusso.

“You really think LaRusso taught you everything? That he trusted you enough for that? You? Johnny’s son?”  _ No, he hadn’t. Even that kick Robby had managed to learn by watching.  _ “He gave you just enough to keep you hooked… but all the real stuff he was saving for someone better. Someone like Diaz. Believe me… the things he is teaching that kid now...”

Sensei Kreese was right. The stance Miguel was taking now was one Robby had never seen before. But the way he was breathing… that was definitely Miyagi-Do…

_ You never really trusted me, did you Mr. LaRusso? That’s why you never taught me all the real secrets of Miyagi-Do. That’s why it was always so easy for you to assume the worst about me… to give up on me… _

Whatever Diaz had up his sleeve wasn’t going to matter if he managed to land a hit first though.

Robby charged, expecting the block and already preparing for the follow-up. Miguel dodged and struck back, his fist hitting Robby’s bicep, his knuckle digging deep into the muscle. Something like a shockwave went up and down his arm and his limb dropped by his side, numb and useless. 

_ What the hell was that? _

Miguel was swinging again and Robby raised his good arm to block. Once again, the knuckle dug deep into muscle. The current flew through him again and Robby stumbled back, falling to his knees, defenseless. 

And Miguel got ready to finish him off…

_ Hits to the arms… no points… but he got me. He beat me. I can’t defend anymore and he basically has a free shot… _

_ But it’s just one point, right? _

_ No… he’s going for a knockout… He’s taking a step back. He’s gathering his strength for the hardest hit he can land… a roundhouse kick right to the head… he doesn’t need to do that for just a point… he wants to KO me and end it in this round itself.  _

The crowd was already going wild… cheering like Miguel had already won… but Miguel remained focused. He wasn’t going to let his guard down. It was already over…

_ No! Not yet! _

Miguel’s leg swung in a wide arc and Robby dropped his body at the same time. The foot sailed harmlessly over his head. His arms might’ve been useless, but Robby managed to twist his lower body and violently swung his legs. 

Miguel was wide open… off-balance…

Robby’s kicks found their mark… one on the hip and the other on the thigh…

Diaz fell sideways, rolling away and Robby got back to his knees… and the collective gasp from the crowd told him it was over…

_ Fuck you all! You don’t matter! I still won. They threw everything they had at me and I still managed to win! _

“Illegal contact to the knee!” The ref yelled. “Keene, you’re disqualified! Diaz wins!”

_ What the hell? _

Diaz was rolling around on the mat, clutching his leg in pain. Johnny and Daniel rushed forward to check on him, while Robby stood stunned on his knees.

_ I hit his thigh. I know it. I felt my foot connect to the muscle. I did NOT hit his knee. _

Robby got to his feet and the referee was in his face a moment later… telling him to back off.

_ Even the ref is on Diaz’s side? What the hell happened to impartiality? _

_ “They all see you as the bad guy. And that’s all they are ever going to see...” _

Robby numbly turned around and saw Kreese staring at him impassively. 

_ I failed… _

* * *

_ I can’t fail. Not this time… there is more than just my life at stake… _

“Just let her go...” Robby said, putting as much iron in his voice as he could. “And nobody has to get hurt.”

The thing bared its fangs at him and laughed. “Speak for yourself, hunter.”

Not all monsters were evil… that’s what the Winchesters had told him. Most of them were just unfortunate souls, slaves to their hunger. Some could even rise above their nature and co-exist with humans.

But the werewolves in front of him right now were pure evil and they needed to die.

No rational hunter would’ve suspected a werewolf. Werewolves didn’t often go for children… their hearts were too small. They also usually didn’t bother to clean up the mess after themselves. They were also more active around the full moon. The pattern here did not fit a werewolf at all and Robby would’ve put his money on something with a taste for little kids. Maybe a rawhead.

And maybe that’s why those wolves were doing that… to keep hunters off their track. They’d managed to fool the last hunter to come after them after all. 

Robby had caught the guy’s trail at the local police station when someone had told him about an FBI agent already on the job. He was pretending to be a criminology student (too young for the FBI play, he’d been told) and the sheriff had seen no problem with giving him the “agent’s” phone number.

The guy’s motel room had been empty though and judging by the musty smell, it’d been a few days since anyone had cleaned it. The hunter - Creedy - hadn’t answered his phone either and in the end, Robby had been forced to hack his voicemail. 

Just one unheard message.

“Werewolves. Two of them.” A raspy voice had said. “Not rawhead. Werewolves.”

Then screaming. Then silence…

_ That hunter died for this information,  _ Robby had thought.  _ I can’t let that sacrifice go to waste. I have to kill them, no matter what. And I can’t take any chances. _

He’d called Sam and Dean right away. 

“Dammit Robby.” Sam had yelled over the phone. “Alright, just hang tight, okay? We’ll be there in a day.”

Too long. The last victim had disappeared 2 days ago. The voicemail was a day old. The werewolves knew the hunters were after them, so it wouldn’t take them long to skip town. So even if their victim was still alive, she wouldn’t have much time…

“I can’t do that.” Robby had replied. “I’m gonna track them down. I’ll wait for you as long as I can once I do that, but if it looks like I’m gonna lose them...”

“Drop the gun.” The wolf snarled. “Or the girl gets it.”

He pressed his claws deeper into her neck to make his point and drew a trickle of blood. The girl was only 5 years old and he was holding her like a shield. She was petrified with fear… too scared to even scream… to do anything other than beg Robby with her eyes.

_ I’ll save you. I’ll find a way to save you. _

“Why do you care about some stupid girl?” Kreese’s voice said in his head. “She’s dead-weight. Forget about her and kill those bastards already. Do your goddamn job.”

_ Saving her IS the job.  _

Robby could shoot the werewolf holding her in the head, but it’d still have enough time to rip the girl’s throat out, so that wasn’t an option. And other than his gun, Robby just had a silver knife holstered in his back belt-loop… risky to take on two of them with that, but he had no other choice.

“Alright, alright.” Robby raised his hands in surrender. “I’m putting it down. Just don’t hurt her.”

He crouched down slowly and put his gun on the floor. 

“Now slide it over.” The wolf ordered. 

Robby glanced between the two of them, doing the mental math. The one to his left was ready to attack, but the other one… the one who held the girl… he’d have to let go of her to pick up the gun, wouldn’t he?

Robby kicked it over to him. 

“Happy?” He said, his arms still raised. “Now let the girl go.”

A sly smirk was the only warning he got.

“NO!” Robby screamed. 

The claws slashed and ripped the girl’s throat open. The wolf let her limp body fall to the floor. 

The next instant, Robby’s hand flew to his back and in one smooth motion, he pulled his knife out and flung it at the enemy. The werewolf looked down in surprise at the hilt sticking out of his chest and fell down.

With a snarl, the other one charged, his claws swinging wide. Robby ducked under them and rolled. He picked up his gun from where it’d come to rest and emptied the clip in that thing’s body.

And he sat there, frozen, as the second wolf fell down dead. 

Then a gasping sound drew his attention. 

_ She’s still alive… she’s still breathing… trying too… _

Her throat was torn apart and it looked like she was choking on her own blood… coughing as she tried to breathe desperately. 

“It’ll be okay. It’s gonna be okay.” Robby told her as he rushed to her side. He desperately pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “You’re gonna be alright. I’m gonna save you.”

“Mo...” The girl choked out, crying. “Mo...”

“I’ll get you to your mom, I promise.” He said. “Just as soon as...”

He looked around, wildly. The med kit was in his duffel… which was far away by the door. If he let go of the girl for even a second, the bleeding would…

“It’s okay… I’ll fix this.” He promised. “I’ll figure it out. I know what I’m doing. I’ll get you out of this...”

Sam and Dean found him an hour later, cradling the girl’s body and sobbing uncontrollably. 


	10. Hunter

“Where’s Dean?” Robby asked tonelessly.

“Cleaning up the mess.” Sam replied. “He’s gonna clean the scene.. Then tell the cops about the bodies so they can tell the families...”

_ Cleaning up my mess… _

“That’s not gonna be good enough for them.”

“No...” Sam agreed. “But it’s something. Atleast they’ll know. Then they can...”

“What? Move on?” Robby asked. 

Could you even move on from something like this? From the death of your child? Well, Johnny could, but other parents weren’t like him. 

“Her name was Kylie.” Robby told Sam. “She loved to play soccer… she was in the Little League. She also loved Magic Pony Princess. And she was only 5 years old.”

It was important to remember that… to know who they were… who he was trying to save… who he’d failed…

Sam nodded wordlessly. 

“Go on… you can say it.” Robby said bitterly. “You can tell me that you told me so.”

“I’m not gonna say that.” Sam shook his head.

“Why not? You were right, weren’t you?” He felt like crying again. “You told me I wasn’t ready. You always knew I wasn’t cut out for this. If I’d listened to you from the start… if I hadn’t been so desperate to prove myself...”

“You weren’t.” Sam interrupted him. “Hey - listen to me - you did nothing wrong, okay? You didn’t try to do everything by yourself. You tried to team up with the other hunter. You called us for backup. Even going in like that… you had your priorities right. You put saving that girl ahead of everything else.”

Robby looked at him for a moment and then looked away. 

“And what do I have to show for it?” He said, defeated. “I still failed.”

Sam had a troubled look on his face as he sat down beside him. 

“Did Dean ever tell you about his first hunt?” He asked. “I mean… he’d helped out on hunts before, but this was his first  _ official  _ hunt.”

Robby shook his head. “Not in the mood for an inspirational story.”

“It’s not.” Sam took a deep breath and began. “He was around 14, I think. Dad took him into the woods to hunt a couple of werewolves… They - uh - they left me in the car to do homework by a flashlight, but I was too freaked out to do anything...”

He sighed, smiling at the memory. “Dean killed two werewolves that night. He shot one as it was going after dad… but the other one got behind him. Mauled him pretty bad...”

That made Robby look up in interest. 

“Dean… I don’t know how, but somehow he managed to keep his wits about him.” Sam continued. “He knew that if he got bit, dad would have to kill him. So he jammed his gun into the wolf’s mouth and kept it there… even as that thing was clawing his chest open.” Sam shuddered. “Then he took out his back-up piece and emptied it into that thing...”

Robby frowned. “So what’s the moral of the story? That Dean was a badass at fourteen? That I’m never gonna measure up?” He shrugged. “Kind of knew that already.”

Sam shook his head again and continued. “Dad carried him back that night… bleeding, almost dead...” He took another deep breath. “I started hating everything after that. I hated myself for being too weak to help. I hated Dean for putting himself in that position. I hated the world where something like this could happen. But most of all...” He looked right at Robby. “I hated my dad for almost getting my big brother killed.”

Robby waited for him to go on. 

“You see? That wasn’t the plan.” Sam explained. “Dean was just supposed to be backup. Dad was supposed to take care of them and if his plan had worked, Dean wouldn’t have had to fire a shot. But the plan went wrong and Dean almost died...”

“H-how did… Dean take it?”

“Dean? Oh, he was the cock of the walk for weeks.” Sam smiled. “Treated me like a slave. Made me do everything short of wiping his ass. Just kept doing it until dad told him to cut it out.”

Robby couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah… that sounds like him.”

Sam nodded. “My point is, I used to think that my dad was the best hunter out there. So did Dean. But there is no such thing as a perfect hunter or a perfect plan. Even if you do everything right, things can still go bad...”

“So what?” Robby asked. “I’m supposed to be just okay with people dying?”

“That’s what this job is.” Sam sounded tired. “Robby… it starts with a death. You read about someone dying somewhere and that’s how you know where you are needed. By the time you get there, someone else ends up dead. And a few more by the time you figure out what’s going on… and then you end it by killing the one behind it. Start to finish, this job is all about death.”

Sam took another deep breath before continuing. 

“It’s how you handle it that makes you a hunter.” He said. “It’s not an easy line to walk, kid. If you care too little, you won’t do the job at all. Or worse, you’ll give in to hatred and become a monster yourself. But if you care too much, you’ll end up burning yourself out and then you won’t be able to help anybody. You do need to care about the people you lose… but you also need to care about the people you saved.”

“But I didn’t save anybody.”

“You don’t even know how many people you saved..” Sam told him. “The werewolves you killed tonight… they would’ve killed a lot more kids if they’d gotten away. You stopped them. All those kids are gonna live because of you. They’ll never know your name or what you did for them… but that doesn’t change the fact that you saved them.”

_ He’s trying to make me feel better. And what he just said, it should make me feel better. So why isn’t it making me feel better? _

“Does it… get easier?”

“It could...” Sam replied thoughtfully. “Do you want it to?”

Robby thought about it.

“No...” He shook his head. “I feel like, if it gets easier then… it doesn’t matter as much. And that… isn’t how it should be. Does that make sense?” 

“More than that.” Sam smiled. “Thinking like that - that’s what makes you a real hunter.”

Robby looked up at him expectantly. “So you think I’m finally ready?”

“You have been for a while now.” Sam sighed. “I guess I just didn’t want you to be.”

Robby frowned. “You didn’t want me to be ready for hunting?”

Sam shook his head. “For losing… for what happened today.”

_ You were… trying to protect me. From this. From what I’m feeling right now… _

“Should’ve known that wasn’t going to work.” Sam sighed. “Dean saw it in you right away and it took me months...”

“Saw what? How?” 

“That you are a fighter.” Sam explained. “We saw your tournament matches when we were looking into you. How that guy had you on your knees… but you didn’t give up. You kept fighting. And the year before that… how you fought with a busted shoulder.”

“I lost.” Robby reminded him. "Both times."

“That’s what hunting is.” Sam told him. “That’s what makes you like us… we keep losing, we keep getting beaten down… and we keep getting back up. You had that fight in you all along and Dean saw it… you just needed something worth fighting for.”

“So… now…?”

“Now?” Sam gave him a wan smile. “Now you are a hunter, Robby Keene.”

* * *

Sam Winchester found his brother in the parking lot, finishing a bottle of beer and gratefully accepted the one he was offered as he approached. 

“Robby?” Dean asked, without looking at him. 

“Asleep.” Sam replied. “He had a rough day. Poor kid’s all tuckered out.”

Dean nodded slowly. 

“You were right about him.” Sam added, remembering. “Kid’s tough. And he has got the heart for this. Everything else - shooting, fighting, research - that can be taught. But having a heart that’s in the right place… that’s most important. And the kid has it.”

“Hmm...” Dean agreed. 

Something was wrong here. Dean never let a chance to gloat pass him by. 

“You got something to say?” Sam asked, suspiciously. 

“I think...” Dean hesitated. “I think we made a mistake. We never should’ve brought him into this...”

_ You son of a bitch…. _

“Seriously?” Sam could feel his jaw clenching. “The moment I get on board, you change your mind? Are you just doing this to mess with me?”

That brought a smirk to his brother’s face. “As funny as that would be...” He shook his head. “No, I’m thinking about Robby here.”

“What about him?” Sam asked. “He wants to be a hunter… and he’s gonna be good at it.”

“And that comes with it’s own price. You know that, Sam.” Dean retorted. “Yeah, it’ll start off good for him. He’ll save lives… he’ll make new friends… he’ll learn how to trust people again, to rely on them. And yeah, he’ll lose some people along the way too, but he’ll tell himself that that’s okay. That what he is doing still matters. That he is still doing more good than harm.”

Sam nodded and Dean sighed.

“But then… his victories… the lives he saves… they’ll start meaning less and less.” Dean went on. “But every failure will be just as heavy as the first one. He’ll watch people die… friends he saved before… friends who saved him. And all that loss and guilt and pain will crush him one day. He’ll want to quit… to get out and give up… but he’ll be in too deep.”

“You don’t know that...” Sam countered. “Just because that’s how it worked out for us… things are different now. With Chuck not writing the script anymore...”

“You really wanna take that chance?” Dean asked. “With Robby?”

Sam sighed, defeated and drank his beer.

“So what do you wanna do?” He asked after a while. “Because the kid’s not gonna quit. You know that, right? Even if you kick him out of the bunker - ”

“I’d never do that.” Dean interrupted. “And I know he’s gonna hunt alone if he has to...”

“Then…?”

“Maybe we can give him something we never had?” Dean suggested. “An exit plan. An escape hatch. Pull in case of emergency kinda thing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He needs an option, Sam. An alternative.” Dean explained. “If hunting is all he knows, then he’s never gonna quit. No matter how bad things get for him. But if he has an alternative… something to fall back on when things get too much...”

Sam nodded. “You have a plan?”

“Just an idea, really.” Dean replied. “Maybe the people that he left behind...”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “After what he did to them?”

“That wasn’t him.” 

“Yeah...” Sam agreed. “But I don’t think they’d be able to tell the difference. But… yeah. We can think about it. Until then…?”

“He hunts with us.” Dean shrugged. “We’ll let him find his sea-legs. Start him off a little easy… send him off to Bobby and Charlie to learn a few new things if we’re dealing with something big...”

Sam nodded in agreement. With all of them looking out for him. Robby should be as safe as was possible. And if at the same time, they could offer him something more… something they never had….

“Guess this means we got some work to do...”

**The End.**

**Or… Stay tuned for part 2.**


End file.
